


To A Stranger

by Losyark



Category: Performance in a Leading Role - Fandom, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Actors AU, BBC Sherlock - Freeform, Beeblock, F/M, Fanfic of Fanfic, Hollywood AU, John Watson - Freeform, Johnlock - Freeform, M/M, Mad Lori, Original Character(s), Performance in a Leading Role, PiaLR, Sherlock AU, Sherlock Holmes - Freeform, Slash, TW: Suicide, Walt Witman, aulock, m/m - Freeform, screenplay, script, sorta - Freeform, tw: cancer, tw: gun death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 19:29:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5387594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Losyark/pseuds/Losyark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benjamin is a top-rated oncologist. Mark practices family law. James is Mark's twin and Benjamin's patient.</p><p>Sparks fly when Benjamin and Mark meet, but their attraction is impeded by their concern for professionalism. Yet Benjamin can't deny his overwhelming desire to be one of the things that Mark cares for so selflessly. And Mark is intrigued by the needy heart beneath Benjamin's aloof exterior.</p><p>When James goes into remission, Mark and Benjamin give in to their passions. But then James' cancer returns, and Mark's firm takes out a malpractice suit. The lover's happiness is fractured by professional obligations, the loss of a career and identity, and brotherly grief.</p><p>What holds love together when everything you are crumbles from under your feet?</p><hr/><p>Written by Molly Hooper. Directed by Ang Lee.</p><p>Here - for the first time - is the screenplay for the unexpected and sizzling hit which swept awards shows; was lauded in Time, Variety, and major publications the world over; snagged a Best Actor Oscar for first-time nominee John Watson; heralded a revolution in LQBTQA+ cinema; and was the catalyst for the incredible romantic journey of two of the greatest actors of our generation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ACT ONE

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Performance In a Leading Role](https://archiveofourown.org/works/225563) by [Mad_Lori](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Lori/pseuds/Mad_Lori). 



> If you would prefer to read this fic as a PDF with full screenplay formatting, [click here.](http://jmfrey.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/To-A-Stranger-Final-Molly-Hooper-Revised-July-2016.pdf)
> 
> 09/04/2016 - With Lori's blessing I have revised and tightened up this screenplay into an original work that I will begin shopping soon. So if you see it mentioned on other websites or lists, please don't be alarmed!

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

TO A STRANGER

by Molly Hooper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © Molly Hooper, 2010

 

No portion of this document may be performed, published, reproduced, sold, or distributed  
by any means either currently known or yet to be invented, or quoted or published  
in any medium, including on any web site, without the proper written consent of Molly Hooper.  
Disposal of this document does not alter any of the restrictions set forth above.

 

St. Bart's Agency  
Los Angeles, CA

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

01               OPENING               01

 The screen is dark.

MUSIC: Minimalist but evocative, a plaintive violin and a piano. A quiet guitar joins in. 

A hydrangea blossoms slowly and from the unfurling petals grow the title:

TITLE CARD: _To a Stranger_

CREDIT CARD: an Ang Lee film

CUT TO:

 

02     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - A HALLWAY. DAY.      02

 MARK - a man in his late 30s who is, on the surface, entirely unremarkable - is waiting on a bench in the starkly-lit hallway of the hospital. His brother is in surgery.

Mark is miserably, weightily weary. He looks like he hasn't shaved in a few days, his boring hair is unkempt from his fretting, and his clothes, while of good quality, are rumpled. He is on the far left of the frame, seated alone, knees together, hands on his thighs, looking straight ahead. The frame is empty of anyone save him.

Slow dolly out.

In trickles, the hallway grows busy - people rush by, their faces out of frame. The world seems to be moving in fast-forward; Mark is living in slow-mo. His every gesture is a struggle through molasses.

A NURSE knocks into small table beside the bench as she rushes past. The nurse catches a vase of flowers before it upends, and places it back onto the table, then goes on her way. But a double-headed hydrangea blossom has fallen out onto the floor.

CLOSE ON:

Mark picks up the flower and contemplates it.

BENJAMIN - dressed from what we can see in surgery greens and an impeccably pressed lab coat - comes to stand in front of Mark. His back is to the camera. He is cool and aloof, and waits for Mark to look up.

Mark takes his time raising his eyes to meet Benjamin's, afraid of what this doctor is about to say. He sets aside the hydrangea.

BENJAMIN  
Mark Farthing?

MARK  
Yes.

A hand reaches out - offering a business card. Mark, a little dazed, takes it.

BENJAMIN  
I'm Doctor Benjamin Cummings. I'm--

MARK  
I know. James?

A beat. Finally the camera finds Benjamin's face: he is in his mid-30s, slim, with a face so intelligent and sharp you could cut your hand trying to pinch his cheeks. He has a riot of luxurious, dark curls that are sweaty and matted from hours under a surgery cap. Benjamin isn't discomfited so much as annoyed that Mark has thrown him off his spiel.

BENJAMIN  
Your brother is out of surgery, and has been moved into a recovery room.

MARK  
And the surgery? Did you... did you get it all?

Another long moment of silence. Benjamin doesn't answer.

MARK (CON'T)  
I... I see. Ah. Thank you. Doctor.

Visibly attempting to hold back distress, Mark stands up to shake Benjamin's hand. Benjamin does not take it.

WIDE ON:

Mark drops his hand and jams it into his pocket, uncomfortable.

Benjamin checks his clipboard and launches into his previously aborted spiel:

BENJAMIN  
The surgery was, as far as I am allowed to say, a complete success.  
The cancerous tumors were removed via laparoscopic surgery.  
While this form of cancer can metastasize, I am confident that  
Mr. Farthing will fully recover and have a complete remission.  
That said, I would like to consult with his MD-Team and schedule  
a follow up appointment to discuss a course of targeted chemotherapy to  
prevent recurrence.

Mark is poleaxed, unable to follow what Benjamin is saying, especially at the speed the doctor is rattling off his diagnosis. He's also off-put by the arrogance in Benjamin's tone and word choices. He shakes his head, trying to get some energy up so he can pay attention.

MARK  
I... alright. I can... I can schedule an... an appointment.

BENJAMIN  
See that you do. There will be counselling sessions to book as well.  
The hospital will recommend a psychiatrist once your brother has been discharged,  
though he's welcome to attend an alternative choice. Nevertheless,  
that doctor must report back to me as head of the MD-team.  
Once Mr. Farthing is awake we will be moving him into a private room.  
You will be taking him home in two days.

MARK  
I will?

BENJAMIN  
Yes. The incision was under his left armpit, so as his caregiver you must ensure  
that he wears loose clothing and does not rotate or lift his arm extensively  
for at least one week. This includes no video games, no driving, and no  
reaching or lifting. No submersion in water until the skin has closed.  
Change the butterfly bandage only after the first three days, and once per day thereafter.

MARK  
But, the lump... I mean, you can't give someone with no tits a mastectomy...

Benjamin offers Mark a scathing look.

BENJAMIN  
Consult with his physiotherapist for a recovery regime.

MARK  
But the... the breast tissue...

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing. With all due respect, there is a reason that I am head of the  
oncological surgery team here.

Mark  
Ah. Yes. I just... I read--

BENJAMIN  
On the internet, I presume?

Mark  
Well, yes. James wanted me to ask about--

BENJAMIN  
Then your brother may ask me when we meet for his followup appointment.  
Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Farthing, with all due respect this has been a very long day  
and I should like to check up on your brother and then end it.

Mark  
Wha...? Yes. Of... of course. Thank you. Can I go in to see--

Mark raises his hand to shake again, but Benjamin doesn't even wait for him to finish his sentence before turning on his heel and walking off.

MARK (CON'T)  
Asshole.

Mark jams the business card in his wallet, and walks to the nurse's station to find out where they took his brother.

 

03     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - JAMES' ROOM. DAY.     03

JAMES is asleep. He is on a stand-drip, and hooked up to some machines, but his face is free of tubing and he is tucked in neatly.

The camera lingers on his face and, surprise, it turns out that James and Mark are identical twins. James, however, is much more fit, his face less weary and more tanned.

Mark lets himself into James' room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He sits in the chair by the bed, and watches James' face intently for a moment.

Mark reaches out and places his hand on James' chest, just feeling him breathe. Slowly, the tiredness returning, Mark takes James' hand.

 

04          EST. CONDO BUILDING. NIGHT.          04

 _Pure Spirits Condo_ in the Distillery District.

A condominium near downtown, overlooking the harbour. It's all glass and chrome, clearly expensive and the stomping grounds of well-heeled professionals. 

 

05     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE OF JAMES' CONDO. night.     05

The hallway is clean, kept up, and fairly newish. Everything is muted and tasteful, the colours just this side of cold.

Mark is walking towards James' condo, juggling grocery bags, a garment bag, and a wheelie suitcase. He fumbles and mutters with the keys.

He nearly drops everything in his exhaustion.

A neighbor comes up the hall behind him. From the back of his head, it is clear that it is Benjamin, but Mark cannot see that.

MARK  
Hey, sorry, could you help me figure out which--

The neighbor utterly ignores him and lets himself into his own condo and shuts the door.

MARK (CON'T)  
(to himself)  
Asshole!

 

06     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     06

The condo consists of an entry way with a closet on one side and a narrow table with a bowl for bric-a-brac on the other. The entry way opens nearly immediately onto an open-plan living room/dining room/kitchen. 

The kitchen is to the left, the living room directly off the entry way, and the dining room behind that, with the table up against the glass wall that overlooks a balcony. His condo faces the perennial construction pit that is the Lower Don Valley neighborhood.

To the right, a hallway leads to James' room, the guest room/office, and a bathroom.

The balcony is populated by a bike, some old plant pots, and a very crappy man-cave style armchair. The dining room consists of flat-pack-special table with two chairs, and a tall glass shelf unit behind that of an array of tempting, masculine liqour bottles and glasses.

The living room is dominated by a massive television on a low-slung entertainment unit, again a flat-pack special, but well cared for, and borded on either side by bookshelves filled with gaming systems, video games, and blu-ray cases. Things are a bit dusty, and well loved, but generally neat. The sofa is leather.

The kitchen, by contrast to the rest of the place, is nearly barren. The only appliances on the counter are an old, battered coffee machine and an equally crappy toaster leftover from his student days. The shelves are only half-filled. There is a big bowl on the counter of individually-wrapped single-use plastic cutlery and another of the kinds of packets of sauces that come from take-out. 

James is a man who respects his stuff, even if it's not top quality. He's also a man who eats take-out a lot.

The walls are decorated with sports memorabilia - his own framed jersey from his hockey days in college, a nail hung with a season's pass to the Leafs, etc.  

Right in the entry-way there are framed photos on the wall of James' police academy graduation, his certificate in Police Services, and a goofy photo of Mark wearing James' dress uniform hat at a bar.

Mark lets himself in and drops everything he is carrying in the entry way, exhausted.

James' cat HIGHTOWER greets Mark at the door.

MARK  
Hello, you menace.

Mark spares Hightower a scritch, hauls the groceries into the kitchen, feeds Hightower, and takes his bag to the spare room.

On his way back out, Mark pauses in the threshold of his brother's room.

 

07     INT. JAMES' CONDO - JAMES' BEDROOM. DAY.     07

This is clearly a bachelor's bedroom; everything in here is designed to seduce. The bed is made up with pillows in reds and burgundies, a sort of cheap looking sateen. There's a champagne bottle on one of the side tables with the remains of a melted-down candle sticking out if its mouth. The dresser is tall, and the top littered with a bowl of condoms, a bottle of massage oil, and a book of matches.

The closet is open, and Mark moves to close it. He pauses, hand on the handle, and looks up at the safe resting on the top shelf above where James' uniforms are hung. He reaches up. Hesitates. He very tentatively tugs the handle. The safe doesn't budge. He tugs harder. It doesn't open.

Mark reaches up and tries to pull the safe down. It is bolted in place.

Mark sighs and closes the closet door.

 

08     EST. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE. DAY.     08

Corner of Murray St. and Orde St.

 

09     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - JAMES' ROOM. DAY.     09

Mark is sitting by James' bedside, reading through a stack of medical brochures and pamphlets, and printouts from the internet. He is fidgety: crossing and uncrossing his legs, having trouble paying attention. His eyes stay on the pamphlet, but his fingers tap, his knee bounces, he chews on his lip, etc.

James is watching TV, doped up to the gills. 

The show is some cop procedural, and James snorts at some antic onscreen, then grimaces and puts his free hand over his left shoulder.

JAMES  
Fuck, ow.

MARK  
(without looking up)  
Don't move it.

JAMES  
I didn't move it. I laughed.

MARK  
Then don't laugh.

JAMES  
(jerking his head at the TV)  
They got the Miranda Rights wrong.

Mark sighs, long suffering, and finally looks up.

MARK  
James...

JAMES  
Yeah, yeah.

MARK  
Does it...? Does it hurt more? I can call a nurse...

Mark stands and moves toward the door, but stops when James says:

JAMES  
Fuck's sake, Mark. I'm fine.

MARK  
I'm just trying to--

JAMES  
I know.

MARK  
Well it's not like you'd ever speak up.

JAMES  
(dismissive)  
Yeah, okay.

MARK  
So you gotta work with me, punk, you gotta--

JAMES  
I know! Fuck, okay Mark? I know! Fuck... owww.

MARK  
See, this is exactly what I'm talking about! You never... you never let me _help_.

JAMES  
I'm a grown ass man, and I don't need your--

MARK  
You do! Shut up, James, you do!

JAMES  
Aww, shut up. Jesus, I'm not dying.

MARK  
(furious outburst)  
Not anymore!

James is surprised by the force of Mark's anger.

MARK (CON'T)  
Jesus, James, do you have any _idea_ what this has been... what I've been... _god dammit_.

Mark covers his face, barely holding it together, but not willing to let his macho brother see it.

MARK (CON'T)  
Fuck.

James, uncomfortable by this display of emotion, resumes watching TV. Mark takes a long moment to get himself together, huffing and pressing his lips into lines and swallowing his heart.

MARK (CON'T)  
You want a coffee?

JAMES  
(snide)  
Do your pamphlets say I'm allowed?

MARK  
(angry again)  
I'm just trying to make sure that you-- aww, fuck. Who cares what they say? Do you _want_ a coffee?

JAMES  
Yeah.

MARK  
Yeah. Fine. Yeah.

Mark leaves the room.

 

10     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - A HALLWAY. DAY.     10

Mark leans against the wall, taking a moment to breathe and calm down. Then he heads towards the cafeteria.

The double-headed hydrangea is still in the vase by the sofa. He plucks it out and chucks it in the garbage, punching the flap viciously as he walks by.

 

11     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - Cafeteria. DAY.     11

The man at the end of the coffee line is Benjamin. Mark hesitates when he realizes it's him, then nuts up and gets in line behind the doctor.

There is a curl at the back of Benjamin's neck and Mark becomes transfixed with it.

When Benjamin has paid and turns to go, Mark makes as if to say hello. Benjamin doesn't even notice him, and walks right by.

Mark deflates. Then he steps up, and orders two coffees.

 

12     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     12

CLOSE ON:

Hightower waiting patiently at the door. It opens, and Mark and James shuffle through. Mark has his hands full with James' overnight bag, and a large pizza box.

James is drawn. He shuffles straight to the sofa.

MARK  
Gimmie a sec and I'll help you--

James lowers himself gingerly down into the corner of the sofa, not waiting for Mark.

MARK (CON'T)  
Or not.

Mark sets the pizza on the coffee table within reach and leaves the room to put away James' bag.

Hightower jumps up onto James' lap. James uses his good arm to pet the cat.

JAMES  
Hello, you menace.

James opens the box, pulls out a slice, and picks off the pepperoni. He holds it out for Hightower, who is eagerly anticipating this offer. The cat eats with relish. James, on the other hand, takes a bite of his pizza and doesn't look too thrilled about it.

 

13     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     13

Benjamin has a corner office overlooking the busy University street. His desk is overlarge and richly polished, with a leather blotter and tasteful wood-and-gold nameplate and stationary-holder set. Even his in and out boxes are leather, not plastic. 

The chairs for patients are leather club seats, and his own desk chair is leather and impressive. There is a credenza/filing cabinet of a matching wood all along the wall behind his desk, over which are hung light-boxes and chart-holders.

Benjamin is clearly a Very Important Doctor at the hospital.

Tacked up behind Benjamin are an MRI and a CT scan of James' chest.

Mark and James are sitting on one side of the desk, Benjamin on the other, like a king holding court.

There are hydrangeas in the vase on the corner of Ben's desk, and Mark can't tear his eyes away from them. Anything is better than looking at the scans.

BENJAMIN  
I am quite confident that we caught every tumor, Mr. Farthing.  
That you will be entering a course of chemotherapy is, obviously, nonnegotiable.  
But at this point it is more of a safety procedure than a necessity.

MARK  
Of course. There's no question of that.

JAMES  
(to Mark)  
Dude, you could let me--

MARK  
Sorry. Of course.

Benjamin watches the byplay between with brothers with stony indifference.

BENJAMIN  
I've sent a chemotherapy requisition to the department, so you should  
be receiving a phone call regarding your first appointment within the week.

JAMES  
Thanks, man.

Benjamin clearly does not like being called "man."

BENJAMIN  
You will attend.

JAMES  
Yeah, sure.

Benjamin looks to Mark for confirmation, but Mark is too chastised to comment. He's feeling a little resentful; he was just trying to take care of his brother.

Benjamin stands and gathers up his notes to keep from having to shake hands.

BENJAMIN  
Well then. Good day, Mr. Farthing. And welcome to remission.

JAMES  
Yeah, man! Yeah! Thanks! Feels awesome.

James sticks out his left hand to shake, and Benjamin raises an eyebrow at him and does not take it.

JAMES (CON'T)  
Right, right. Sorry. Thanks doc.

James shoves his left arm back into his sling, wincing.

BENJAMIN  
You're welcome. I'm sure.

Mark stands now, and knows better than to hold out his hand. The brothers leave the office. Benjamin stares after them, his expression unreadable. His eyes drop down on the Farthing twin's bodies for a moment, then jump back up. He shakes his head, annoyed with himself.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
(to himself; snide)  
Ah yes, very professional, doctor.

Benjamin closes the door of his office.

 

14     Est. A LOW-RISE OFFICE BUILDING. DAY.     14

A red-brick office building that has seen better days, in among the low-income community housing and run-down apartment buildings of the Leslieville area.

 

15     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     15

Mark is one of two partners in a small family law firm. His office is a bit cramped, and his furniture is scuffed and worn, but it is all clean. His windows, shaded by cheap vertical blinds, open on an alley way.

Mark is on speaker phone with James.

He is distracted, shuffling through papers looking for something. His office is otherwise freakishly tidy, but the file folder in his hands looks like it's vomited all over the blotter.

As this conversation progresses the camera cuts back and forth between the brothers.

MARK  
Well, no, James, in fact I _don't_ think it's a good idea.

 

16     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     16

James is seated on his sofa and, contrary to orders, is playing a video game. He's got his phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear, and he winces when he jerks his controller.

JAMES  
The precinct is playing the 107th and I--

 

17     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     17

Mark points his pen at the phone, scolding.

MARK  
Cannot bowl.

 

18     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     18

JAMES  
Jesus, _mom,_ it's been a week.

He throws down his controller.

 

19     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     19

MARK  
Your first chemo is tomorrow afternoon.

 

20     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     20

JAMES  
(frustrated)  
Stop micromanaging. I'm a big boy, man. I can lift a--

 

21     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     21

MARK  
You absolutely cannot. If you promised me that you'd just sit and watch,  
I would have no problems with it, but I _know_ you. You'll have a few beers,  
get it into your head that you're invincible, then rip open your incisions.  
They've barely healed over and--

JAMES (OVERLAPPING)(O.S)  
I don't think I'm invincible, Mark I-

Mark is growing angrier and angrier. He stands up, planting his hands on the desk, and getting very red and shouty.

MARK  
Yes, you do. That's half the reason we're in this situation in the first place!  
You never go to your annual checkups, you never _listened_ \--

JAMES (O.S.)  
Jesus, Mark!

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
\--to what your own goddamn body was trying to tell you for eight goddamn months--

 

22     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     22

JAMES  
Mark!

MARK (O.S.)  
\-- and all you care about is your goddamn macho pride and what your buddies will think of you!  
Well, guess what, we're not nineteen any more--

JAMES  
_Mark!_

 

23     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     23

MARK  
\--and if you can't handle yourself like the gun-wielding, badge-wearing  
_adult_ that you're supposed to be then you can just damn well put up with your  
faggot brother micromanaging your social life!

There is stunned silence on the other end of the line. Mark blows out a groan, regretting what he's said instantly.

JAMES (O.S.)  
Hey, fuck you, man. I haven't called you a faggot in literally a decade.

MARK  
I'm sorry.

JAMES (O.S.)  
Fuck your 'sorry'. That was low.

Another long silence. Mark is angry still, but it's bleeding out. Mark sinks down into his chair, covers his face, exhausted.

 

24     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     24

JAMES  
Fine. I won't go.

MARK (O.S.)  
Thank you.

James sits back, stung and pretending like he's not, shoving down his emotions.

JAMES  
(falsely nonchalant)  
What would I say to the guys, anyway?

A pause.

MARK (O.S.)  
You could tell them the truth.

James shifts on the sofa. He doesn't like that idea at _all._

MARK (CON'T)(O.S.)  
There's nothing shameful in a man with bre--

JAMES  
(sharp)  
I said no, man.

 

25     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     25

Mark is startled with how vehement James is about keeping this a secret.

MARK  
Okay. Right. Okay.

A beat.

JAMES (O.S.)  
Feel like Thai tonight?

MARK  
Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'm leaving work soon. Uh, as soon as I get  
this damn Brabant case file in some sort of order.

JAMES (O.S.)  
So, around midnight then?

Mark laughs. It is a relieved laugh, a genuine laugh. He hasn't had many of those lately, and he startles himself.

MARK  
Yeah. Yeah. I'll be home soon. Call ahead - I'll pick it up on my way back.

JAMES (O.S.)  
'kay.

Mark hangs up.

 

26     INT. THE THAI PLACE. NIGHT.     26

The restaurant is little more than a battered counter, an ancient cash register, a blackboard with hand-written specials, and beat-up linoleum that is peeling and cracking. The walls are painted a sort of dirty terra cotta and haphazardly decorated with all sorts of random charity-shop art.

Mark, rumpled and carrying the Brabant file (it's marked as such), gets into the queue. There are about four people ahead of him.

The CASHIER behind the counter sees him and makes a gesture to him that his order is nearly ready. Obviously, James comes here a lot.

Benjamin is ahead of him in line again, though it takes Mark a moment of fatigued staring to realize it. That little curl on the nape of Benjamin's neck is way too appealing in Mark's tired state.

When Benjamin receives his order and turns to leave, Mark tries to say hello again, and again is ignored. 

Already filled with residual anger over his fight with James, Mark snatches his order off the counter, throws down his money, and chases Benjamin out the door.

 

27     EXT. STREET OUTSIDE THE THAI PLACE. NIGHT.     27

The Thai place is just a few doors down from the Condo, in the Distillery District.

Mark stomps across the cobblestone after Benjamin.

MARK  
What the hell is wrong with you?

Startled, not expecting to be accosted, Benjamin freezes. Mark catches up to him, puffing, indignant, and circles around Benjamin to get in his face.

BENJAMIN  
Well, I'm not the one yelling at strangers in the street, for one.

MARK  
Strangers! God, you can't even-- no. No, of course not.

Mark deflates. He feels like ten kinds of idiot.

MARK (CON'T)  
Right. You must see a hundred patients a day. And most of  
them are dying so you probably don't bother to--

BENJAMIN  
Oh, no. I do remember the dying ones. Always.

MARK  
What? Why?

BENJAMIN  
Because they were the failures. They were the mistakes  
I will not allow myself to make again.

MARK  
Well that's... cold.

BENJAMIN  
It is efficient. My job is cut cancer out of people, Mr. Farthing.  
Not to be a bleeding heart. Good evening.

Benjamin swings away, and using a key fob, enters James' condo building. He clearly also lives there.

Mark watches him go, and then the fact that Benjamin used his last name clicks, and he scrambles to catch up, getting through the door before it closes.

 

28     INT. LOBBY OF JAMES' CONDO BUILDING. NIGHT.     28

Mark follows Benjamin to the elevator.

MARK  
Hey, no, wait a second. You _do_ know me.

Benjamin sighs, put out.

BENJAMIN  
Yes, I remember who you are, Mr. Farthing. Twin brother of a male breast  
cancer patient. It is singular enough to stick in one's mind.

MARK  
So why did you--?

The elevator arrives. Mark pushes the button for James' floor. Benjamin does not push a button.

BENJAMIN  
Would _you_ be interested in making small talk with the man who  
shouted at you in the street?

MARK  
(trying for flirty)  
No, I guess not.

BENJAMIN  
Then you guess correctly.

The elevator stops on their floor. Benjamin exits.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Good evening, Mr. Farthing.

MARK  
I, uh. Good evening, Dr. Cummings.

Mark exits the elevator, and watches as Benjamin lets himself into an condo a few doors down from James'. Then he sighs and heads back to his temporary home.

 

29     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     29

It is the next morning. Mark is looking put together, like the lawyer he is, and he is holding two takeaway cups of coffee. He is standing in front of Benjamin's condo door.

He takes a moment to collect himself, then knocks.

Benjamin, clearly on his way out to work, opens the door whilst tying his tie.

BENJAMIN  
Yes? What?

MARK  
I... um, I wanted to apologize for--

BENJAMIN  
Oh, for god's sake.

MARK  
What?

BENJAMIN  
No.

MARK  
That's it? Just _no?_

BENJAMIN  
No, I will not accept bribes to help your brother get better care.  
He already has the best. He is _fine._

MARK  
(spluttering)  
I didn't... that's not why I...

BENJAMIN  
Or that I'm a doctor? I wasn't certain you played for my team,  
but who can tell? Did your mother always encouraged you to snare one? 

MARK  
_No!_ I'm a lawyer, I don't need a doctor to be my sugar da--

BENJAMIN  
You didn't really come to apologize for shouting at me last night.

MARK  
Yes! Actually, I have!

BENJAMIN  
Why?

MARK  
Because that's what people do!

BENJAMIN  
Not in my experience.

MARK  
Then you've been hanging around the wrong people. Look, here.  
Take it. I'm sorry.

Benjamin doesn't take it.

BENJAMIN  
I don't drink coffee.

He closes the door in Mark's face.

MARK  
God, you are a _prick!_

 

30     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     30

It is several days later. The brothers are back in Benjamin's office.

Mark is sitting with his arms crossed, glaring out the window. Benjamin is focused entirely on James, and James is oblivious to the tension in the room.

James looks sick and wane, but he is smiling.

JAMES  
Naw, man, I'm holding up. I'm cool.

BENJAMIN  
I'm pleased to see no extra unexpected side effects related   
to the chemotherapy, so we'll continue with the entire course of treatment.  
Is that acceptable to you, Mr. Farthing?

JAMES  
Sure, man.

BENJAMIN  
That's an affirmative, then?

JAMES  
Yeah. Yes.

BENJAMIN  
Excellent. If you'll sign here. This form just acknowledges that I've  
informed you of the risks and you've given your permission to  
continue with the course of treatment.

He pushes a clipboard with a form across the desk, and James signs.

BENJAMIN  
And you as well, please, Mr. Farthing.

Mark, startled out of his glare, whips around.

MARK  
What? Why me?

BENJAMIN  
As his primary caregiver, you also need to be informed of the risks  
of chemotherapy. As a _lawyer_ , Mr. Farthing, I thought you'd be aware of the  
necessity of your signature.

Low blow.

Mark snatches the form, reads it quickly. Then he signs it, glowering at Benjamin. James becomes aware of the tension for the first time.

JAMES  
Am I missing something?

MARK  
Nothing.

Benjamin stands, dismissing them.

BENJAMIN  
If there's anything else you gentlemen need. Related to Mr. Farthing's  _case_ , that is...

MARK  
Right, okay. I get it. I'm sorry. It was a gesture, okay? Sorry. I promise,  
I won't try to be nice to you again. _Prick_.

Mark storms out of the room. James trails after him, bemused. Benjamin watches them go from behind the desk. One side of his mouth curls up into an involuntary grin. He shuts it down immediately.

 

31     EXT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTER - PARKING GARAGE. DAY.     31

Mark stomps over to his car, James trailing in his wake, amused.

JAMES  
I'm just saying that if I was into dudes, I'd have a crush on him, too.

MARK  
I don't have a _crush_. I'm a grown-ass man. Grown-ass men don't have crushes.

JAMES  
Says you.

MARK  
Yes! Says me. And me says -- I mean, _I_ say that I don't have a crush on him.

JAMES  
Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Mark whirls around on his brother, middle finger up.

JAMES (CON'T)  
Right, sorry, right. But you still protest too much.

MARK  
He's an asshole, okay? Just... it won't endanger your care, I promise.  
But maybe I should stop coming to your meetings.

JAMES  
What, and deprive me of the opportunity to watch you pulling the doc's pigtails?

MARK  
(giving into the humor of the image)  
Aw, shut up. Get in the damned car.

JAMES  
Yessir.

Though it takes some careful maneuvering, James gets into the damned car.

 

32     INT. MARK'S CAR. DAY.     32

They get in. Mark starts the engine, shifts gears, and puts his hands on the wheel. He looks thoughtful.

MARK  
He does have pretty luxurious hair.

JAMES  
(laughing)  
Aw, now you shut up. Drive.

MARK  
Home first? Or pizza?

JAMES  
Nah, I'm good.

Mark stares at James. He's never declined pizza before.

JAMES (CON'T)  
Chill, man. I'm good. Just not hungry, okay? It's not like I'm dying.

MARK  
No. No, not any more.

JAMES  
See? Not any more.  
(a beat)  
Thanks to Doctor McHottieHair.

MARK  
(groans)  
Oh, god, stop it.

Mark backs out of the parking space. James laughs, and winces, and put his hand over his left shoulder when Mark is preoccupied looking in the rear view mirror.

 

33     INT. JAMES' CONDO - JAMES' BEDROOM. DAY.     33

James stares at his exposed chest in the mirror. The bandages are gone, but there is still a massive purple bruise around his left armpit.

He winces, raises his arm, and inspects the surgery site. It is red, and angry, but the wounds are closed and puffy with new scar tissue, and clearly tender.

He spreads his right palm across his left pectoral, feeling, searching, kneading. Worried.

Hightower winds around his feet.

 

34     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     34

Mark exits the elevator after a long day at work. Benjamin is about to enter the elevator, wearing jogging apparel, and they nearly bump into one another.

MARK  
Oh, sorry I-- oh. This is getting a bit ridiculous.

BENJAMIN  
I'll say. Especially when I've never seen you in this building before. When did you move in?

MARK  
Well, it's James' place. I'm here to be, you know...

BENJAMIN  
His primary caregiver.

MARK  
Yeah. Um. I guess that you two must have had different hours before, so...

BENJAMIN  
Obviously.

MARK  
Right. Okay. Goodnight Dr. Cummings.

Mark shifts out of Benjamin's way so he can get on the elevator. Benjamin enters and turns to face the hallway.

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing, perhaps it's appropriate for me to apolo--

The doors close on the rest of what he was going to say. It doesn't matter though. Mark didn't wait for him to speak.

 

35     INT. ELEVATOR IN JAMES' CONDO BUILDING. NIGHT.

Benjamin, clearly frustrated with himself, scrubs his hands through his hair. He puts in his earbuds and when the elevator opens, and jogs into the otherwise empty lobby.

 

36     INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     36

Mark enters the condo, drops his briefcase, sheds his coat, and scritches Hightower.

MARK  
Hello, you menace.

Mark goes to the living room, where James is on the phone.

JAMES  
Yeah, yeah Mum. No, he just got in.

Mark waves vaguely, and walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge, searching for a beer. He emerges with one, listening to James' phone call. As James talks he pops the top, and then pulls out leftover Thai food and assembles two plates and microwaves them.

JAMES (CON'T)  
Marky-poo says hi, Mum. Uh huh.... no, just tired mostly.  
Like I could sleep for a week. ... Uh huh. Well... no, that's what all the pamphlets say.  
It's normal, Ma. .... uh huh. Yeah, I know, Mum. No, I'm fine. I swear it.  
I'm fine. Love you, too. Bye.

Mark comes back into the room as James hangs up, juggling the beer and the two plates. He offers one to James.

JAMES (CON'T)  
Nah, I'm good.

MARK  
When was the last time you ate?

JAMES  
Had a late lunch. I'm fine.

Mark looks back at the otherwise pristine kitchen, frowning dubiously.

JAMES (CON'T)  
I did my dishes.

MARK  
_You_ did the dishes.

JAMES  
What? I got bored.

MARK  
You've never gotten bored enough to do the dishes before.

JAMES  
I'm a new man.

MARK  
Clearly.

They sit down on the sofa, shoving aside blankets and pillows. James turns on the TV and pets Hightower, who jumps up for a snuggle. Mark eats in silence, James's dinner abandoned on the coffee table.

 

37     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - A WAITING AREA. DAY.     37

Mark is in a nominally crowded waiting area populated with other people; they are laughing, chatting, sipping crappy vending machine coffee, reading magazines, and napping. There are plastic plants and vending machines against one wall.

Mark has his laptop on his knees and a sheaf of papers spread out on the seat next to him and a pencil behind his ear.

There is a hydrangea on the table beside his coffee cup.

Mark grabs the pencil, looks between the screen and the paper, makes a notation on the topmost sheet of paper, looks back up to the screen, and then drops his pencil into his coffee as if it's his desk pen holder. A second later he realizes what he's done and groans, fishes the pencil out, shakes it off, and puts it back behind his ear.

Benjamin, walking by, stops and watches the performance. His mouth twitches towards a smile again, but he stops it.

BENJAMIN  
You know, Mr. Farthing--

MARK  
(surprised)  
Oh, fuck!

Mark jumps, upsetting the table, nearly dumps his laptop, coffee, and the vase onto the floor and scrambles to catch them.

BENJAMIN  
My specialty is oncology, but my general practitioner days are not so far behind  
me that even I cannot see that you are working toward a spectacular  
hypertension-induced cardiac event.

MARK  
Christ, you _startled me._

BENJAMIN  
My apologies.

MARK  
(snorts)  
Oh, so _now_  you believe in apologies?

Benjamin looks chastened.

BENJAMIN  
I believe I deserved that.

Mark, startled, closes his laptop and actually pays attention.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
It has occurred to me that I... perhaps was ungracious.

MARK  
I shouldn't have yelled at you.

BENJAMIN  
It was rude of me to ignore you.

MARK  
You were doing it on purpose?

Benjamin looks furtively around the waiting room.

BENJAMIN  
Perhaps we can... take this conversation elsewhere? My office or...?

MARK  
Yes - but, no, no, I'm so sick of being in this hospital I could scream. I have,  
um, an hour until James is done with his blood transfusion. Is there a coffee shop or...?

BENJAMIN  
There's a park a block that way.

MARK  
That sounds perfect.

BENJAMIN  
Follow me.

 

38     EXT. McCAUL-ORDE PARK. DAY.      38

Mark and Benjamin have coffees and are sitting on a park bench beside one another. Behind the bench is a large hydrangea bush, in full bloom. For a moment, the two men sip in silence.

MARK  
Well?

BENJAMIN  
Well what?

MARK  
I thought the whole point of coming out here was so that you could  
explain why you were ignoring me.

BENJAMIN  
Yes... I. Ahem. I just...

MARK  
Don't tell me you've changed your mind.

BENJAMIN  
No. It's simply that I've never _had_ to, ah, articulate it before.  
I, um, you must understand that I...

MARK  
(gently)  
I'm listening.

Benjamin blows out a sigh, suddenly agitated and very visibly nervous. Mark is startled by the change in demeanor.

BENJAMIN  
You must understand that I am good, Mark. I am very good at what I do.  
I am, quite simply, probably the best at it in the country, if not on the continent.

MARK  
Okay. Don't be too modest or anything.

BENJAMIN  
(flashing a smile)  
I only say this so you'll understand what I mean when I say that... I fail.  
I fail quite a lot actually.

MARK  
You said you remember the dying ones.

BENJAMIN  
I remember all of them, Mr. Farthing.

MARK  
Mark.

BENJAMIN  
Mark, then. I remember all of them. The children, and the old men, the young women  
who will never be mothers after I am done with them. I remember all of them. Part of it is ...  
I am clever, Mark. You don't get to be head of oncology without being clever,  
and you don't often get to be clever without a fantastic memory. Do you understand me?

MARK  
Yes.

BENJAMIN  
Good. But another part is...

He lays a hand on his chest, face screwing up with his frustration at being unable to articulate what he's trying to say. He looks quite anxious about it, actually, on the verge of a big emotional moment.

MARK  
It's okay. I get it.

BENJAMIN  
No, you don't. It's... I am the bad guy.

MARK  
The what?

BENJAMIN  
When we talk about the monster that comes in the night, the mutant  
cells that live under the bed and attack everyone who passes indiscriminately,  
when we talk of the bogeyman that is cancer, the monster has my face.

MARK  
But you don't _cause_ people--

BENJAMIN  
No. But I am the one who must _tell_ them.

Mark is silent for a moment, considering.

MARK  
I think I get it.

BENJAMIN  
No matter how it turns out, no matter if in the end I am the knight who  
cuts the dragon out of the princess, I am first the messenger who tells them  
that the dragon is there at all.

MARK  
Not every fairy-tale needs a good old-fashioned villain, Dr. Cummings.

BENJAMIN  
Benjamin.

MARK  
Benjamin.

BENJAMIN  
Whether it needs one or not, it has one. And it wears my face. So you can... ahem.  
You can see why I choose not to... not to interact with... I mean, on a social scale...

MARK

So what makes me different? Why talk to me now?

Benjamin casts Mark a hopeless, slightly hungry look. It takes Mark a moment to parse what Benjamin's look means. And then he throws back his head and laughs.

BENJAMIN  
Oh. Well. That's not hurtful.

MARK  
Sorry. Sorry. I just... this is... James would love this.

BENJAMIN  
(squirming)  
I'll admit, I... ah... _admired_  your brother first.  
When I saw him in our building. But...when I met you...

MARK  
(self-depreciating)  
None of the muscles, all of the paranoia? Is that what does it for you?

BENJAMIN  
All of the _care_.

Mark, flustered by this unexpected compliment, stares at his coffee in shocked silence. Benjamin takes this the wrong way, and scrambles to get Mark to understand.

BENJAMIN  
I wanted to tell you, wanted to stop ignoring you because you...  
you care. It's so clear that you _care._

MARK  
I care?

BENJAMIN  
You care _so much_ , and I've never... never seen... never _had..._

MARK  
Oh. (The penny drops.) _Oh._

BENJAMIN  
I... forgive me. I shouldn't have... of course, you aren't...

MARK  
I am. Uh. Gay. But.

BENJAMIN  
Then?

MARK  
James. And... and the hospital and...

BENJAMIN  
I. Yes. Of course.

MARK  
Of course.

Another long pause, but this time they stare at each other, helpless, hopeless. They are trapped by their situation. Mark licks his lips, nervous, and Benjamin's eyes slide down to his mouth. They sway close to one another, eyes fluttering, but Mark jerks back at the last moment.

It is inappropriate. It is _horrifically_ inappropriate for Mark to be seeking love and comfort in his brother's doctor, for him to be taking the attention that Dr. Cummings should be paying to James and his other patients away with his own desires. And Mark is horrified at himself. 

Mark stands abruptly, backing away.

MARK  
I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry. Benja-- Dr. Cummings. I'm sorry.

BENJAMIN  
Mark?

MARK  
You're not the villain. You're _not_. But I can't... not with James... I _can't._

Benjamin nods once, gravely, all the tentative emotion that he had let through his cool facade with his confession freezing over.

 

39     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - PARKING GARAGE. DAY.     39

Mark helps the weak and cranky, grunting, lock-jawed James into the passenger seat, then comes around to the driver's side.

Before he gets in, he takes out his wallet and removes a business card.

Mark stands outside of the car, staring at Benjamin's business card. He is pensive, and slightly miserable. Then his phone rings.

He jams the card back in his wallet, and answers.

MARK  
Hello? Yes? Ah, sorry, Azita! Yes! Sorry, god, I'm sorry. Yes, I'll get that file  
to you as soon as I get home. I meant to finish it this afternoon while James was in...  
yeah, no. Good. Good. He's sleeping now. That's... good.

Mark gets into the car.

 

40     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     40

Benjamin is sitting behind his desk, angry with himself. His fists are clenched, and he's scowling. He crumples up his coffee cup and jams it hard into his trash bin.

There are hydrangeas in a vase in the corner.

 

41     INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     41

James is playing a first-person shooter videogame, shit-talking on the headset. James has also started to lose his hair.

JAMES  
Aw, come on, you noob. Get the fuck outta my - you stupid little shit!  
Move your ass before I kill it! (etc.)

Mark is seated behind him, at the kitchen table, reviewing case files. He looks a mess - he is clearly exhausted, rumpled, pen on his face and bags under his eyes.

Hidden from James, Mark is running his fingers over the edge of Benjamin's well-worn business card.

 

42     EXT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOUSE. DAY.     42

The twins are just getting out of the car in front of the large house, meticulously landscaped on the Bridal Path. It screams money, but not in any sort of vulgar way.

An older woman, thin and white-haired, in a purple dress, stands at the door with a grin on her face. This is their mother DIANE.

DIANE  
Darlings! Hallo!

JAMES  
Hey, Ma.

James tries to wave and winces instead.

James leans against the car, and waits for Mark to come help him up the driveway. Diane takes a few steps toward them, down the walk, but Mark stops her:

MARK  
We're good.

James isn't looking so good - the chemo has really started to do a number on him. He's looking sallow and wan, and his hair has really begun to thin now.

Mark looks exhausted, but pleased to be home. He lets James lean on him, and together they approach the house. Their mother kisses them both on their cheeks and wraps them into a hug together.

DIANE  
And how are my boys feeling? You both look wretched.

JAMES  
Mum!

MARK  
(laughing)  
Gee, thanks, mum.

DIANE  
Come inside, come inside. Dinner's almost ready. James, you need to save your  
father from himself. He's determined to carve the roast--

JAMES  
Hell, no. (Calls into the house:) Dad! This is the Toronto Metropolitan Police.  
Freeze! Put. Down. The knife!

Their father, spry and twinkly-eyed for his age, pops his head out the door and grins. This is OLIVER. He is wielding a fake knife.

OLIVER  
What if I resist arrest?

James reaches out and transfers his weight onto his father, shouldering his way past Mark and Diane, and enters the house. Oliver helps him walk inside. Mark grins at his mum and they share a laugh.

MARK  
Don't use your left arm... James! (sighs) Like talking into a hurricane, he is.

Mark and Diane linger on the front step for a moment.

DIANE  
And how are you, darling?

Diane reaches out and cups Mark's face, runs her thumb along the bottom of the bags under his eyes. Mark leans into the touch.

DIANE (CON'T)  
You know James can come stay with us. Or I can sleep in his spare room for a while.

MARK  
We're fine, Mum. We're both fine. Everything's going to be just...

DIANE  
Fine?

MARK  
Yeah.

Mark holds up bottle of wine - it's sweating in the sunlight - and gestures with it to the inside of the house. Diane smiles and Mark goes in ahead of her. Diane looks after him with pity in her eyes. Then she straightens herself, and goes inside.

 

43     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' CONDO. Night.     43

James and Mark bicker as they exit the elevator. James looks truly horrible, and needs to lean on his brother.

MARK  
I told you we should have stayed in the living room.

JAMES  
I wasn't going to make mum wash the dishes. She made dinner. You know it's the rule.

MARK  
I think you get a pass.

JAMES  
(suddenly angry)  
I don't _want_ a pass!

Mark is taken aback.

MARK  
James--

JAMES  
I am _fine!_ I don't need to be babied and I don't need to be watched  
and I can damn well wash the dishes!

MARK  
Funny, that's not what you say when I want you to do them here.

James opens his mouth to argue, pauses, and his anger crinckles into amusement.

JAMES  
Shut up.

MARK  
You shut up.

BENJAMIN  
Actually, I would quite appreciate it if you both shut up.

James and Mark turn, comically, to find Benjamin leaning out of his condo door. He is in pajamas and a very posh dressing gown, and he is scowling.

MARK  
(flustered)  
Ah. Dr. Cummings. Sorry. Can't take this punk anywhere.

BENJAMIN  
Not even home, apparently.

James snorts, amused, and snatches the keys out of Mark's hand and lets himself into the apartment. It's slow going, and it takes him a couple tries. Mark and Benjamin both watch with stricken expressions that make it clear that they would love to help but know that James would be offended.

MARK  
Sorry again for the noise.

James walks into the apartment. Mark is about to follow him, but stops when Benjamin clears his throat.

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing... May I have a word?

Mark takes a moment to assess Benjamin. His scowl has been replaced with something... more vulnerable. More hopeful.

Mark is torn - he doesn't want to have to sit through another conversation like in the park. But in case it's not about _that_ , he wants to hear Benjamin out.

MARK  
Come inside.

Benjamin hesitates.

MARK (CON'T)  
I want to make sure James is settled, then we can talk.

Benjamin tentatively follows Mark into James' apartment. 

 

44     INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     44

James shuffles out of the kitchen, hand on the walls, with a glass of water, and is surprised to see Benjamin in his condo.

JAMES  
Doc?

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing. I, uh, I just wanted a word with your brother.

James smirks at Mark, who rolls his eyes in return.

JAMES  
Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. I'm gonna go lie down for a bit.

MARK  
Okay. Shout if you need anything.

JAMES  
Sure. Have fun, boys. Call me if you're going to be out late. Wear a condom. 

MARK  
(scandalized)  
James!

James laughs and shuts the bedroom door behind him.

A beat.

Mark walks toward the dining table, the furthest point from James' room.

BENJAMIN  
I must confess, Mr. Farthing, I'm surprised to see James out and  
about so soon after an infusion.

MARK  
_That's_ what you wanted to talk about? Not the almost ki... uh, in the park?

BENJAMIN  
James should be resting. Chemotherapy makes the body sicker in order to  
kill the cancer, so he must--

MARK  
You think I don't know that?

BENJAMIN  
Then why have you allowed--

MARK  
(scoffing)  
Trust me when I say that I haven't _allowed_ my brother to do anything.

BENJAMIN  
He should be listening to you.

MARK  
Now I know for a fact that you're an only child.

BENJAMIN  
I don't understand how that has any relevancy here.

MARK  
If you had siblings, you'd understand how difficult it is to _make_ one do anything.  
If I had a dollar of every time I heard "you're not the boss of me" I could...

Mark sighs and trails off, scrubbing at his eyes. He looks around the condo, miserable and exhausted.

MARK (CON'T)  
I could hire a damn cleaning service.

Mark moves to tidy up the dining room table, which by now has been completely taken over by his files, but his sleepy shuffles are unsteady. He trips over Hightower.

Benjamin rushes forward and seizes Mark around the waist and keeps him from crashing.

MARK (CON'T)  
Shit! Fuck! Goddamn _menace!_

 

He kicks out at the cat, something he would never do if he wasn't so scared and tired. Hightower dodges, yowls at him indignantly, and bolts into James' room.

Mark turns in Benjamin's arms, and nearly at once they both realize that they have somehow found themselves in a romantic clinch. It is cliche and awkward and they both shift, clearly out of their depth.

Benjamin is studying Mark's face intently, and Mark licks his lips, half anticipation, half agony.

They shift a little in their hold, so Mark is standing on his own feet and Benjamin isn't quite so close, but never truly separate.

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing. You... you're exhausted. Possibly to the point of impairment.  
You should not have driven home tonight.

Mark  
You're probably right.

BENJAMIN  
You are overworking yourself.

MARK  
It's gotta get done.

BENJAMIN  
Surely your workplace must have compassionate leave--

MARK  
I'm a partner, I can't just--

BENJAMIN  
Of course you can. I see nothing but take out boxes here, you must  
maintain a proper diet, for you and for James--

MARK  
James hasn't eaten a vegetable of his own free will  
since the day he moved out for college.

BENJAMIN  
Then you must _make_ him--

MARK  
I'm not a miracle worker.

Benjamin cups Mark's cheek and it would be intimate, romantic, if it wasn't so clinical.

BENJAMIN  
I will not allow my hard work with James to be wasted  
by insufficient after-care. You must--

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
_Your_ hard work?

BENJAMIN  
\-- be more mindful. You will risk that if you do not take care of yourself.  
Hand your work over to another partner--

MARK  
What? No!

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing... Mark, you must--

Mark shoves Benjamin back hard. Benjamin crashes into the sofa arm, and clutches it to stay upright. Mark is _seething_.

MARK  
No. No, you don't get to come in here and dictate how and  
where I parcel out my time and my energy.

BENJAMIN  
But surely you see that--

Mark thrusts his hand at the messy table.

MARK  
These people _need_ me. They came to me, a lot of them specifically _asked_ for me,  
because they _need_ someone on their side. I can't abandon them.  
It is a _privilege_ to be their voice.

BENJAMIN  
_James_ needs you. He needs you to be present and well enough.  
And to do that you need to sleep, you need to--

MARK  
This is nothing new! James will _always_ need me. I'm the one who picked him up  
from the parties he wasn't supposed to be drinking at, I'm the one who helped  
him when he thought he'd gotten his girlfriend pregnant, I'm the one who  
posted bail when he got into brawls in bars. So what if this time it's just  
something a bit bigger? He's my brother! Your 'hard work' won't  
be wasted, Dr. Cummings, because taking care of James is _what I do._

 

A beat.

Benjamin is shocked into a momentary silence. And then he glowers, mulishly.

BENJAMIN  
But even that must not be at the expense of yourself.

MARK  
Why not? _Why not_ , Dr. Cummings? What good am I to anyone except in this?  
This is what I do. This is what I _am_. Just like you said;  
all I do, all I'm good for, is to _care_.

Benjamin surges up, grabs Mark's head, and tries to kiss him. It is desperate, passionate, a loss of control that is startling to both of them.

But Mark gets his hand up between them too fast and Benjamin ends up kissing Mark's palm instead. Benjamin settles for this, sad, and stops fighting to get around Mark's hold.

Softly, regretfully, Mark presses his own mouth against the back of his knuckles, as if he could kiss Benjamin through the barrier of flesh, and bone, and responsibility.

But he can't. He can't.

They part slowly, reluctantly.

BENJAMIN  
You mean something more to me.

Mark pushes Benjamin away, gently this time, and laughs bitterly. The quiet, intimate magic of the moment has shattered.

MARK  
No I don't. You don't even know me. You just want a piece of me, too.  
You _said_ so. In the park. You said so. You only want me because  
I _care_. Because you want someone to _care_ for you. And I can't, I don't have anything left,  
Benjamin, Dr. Cummings. I'm tapped out. I, god I just...

Mark starts to cry - not demonstrative sobs, but just helpless, unconscious weeping of the truly beaten-down. He drops down onto the sofa.

MARK (CON'T)  
I'm so tired.

Benjamin sits beside Mark. It is awkward, because he is torn between wanting to comfort Mark and the fear that he'll be rebuffed again. His hand flexes, near to reaching over to take Marks, then changes his mind and makes a fist. He stares straight ahead, hands primly on his knees, falling back into Doctorly Formality to protect himself.

BENJAMIN  
You're overtired. You should sleep.

MARK  
I have to finish my deposition.

BENJAMIN  
Whatever you write now will be gibberish. You do neither yourself,  
nor your clients, nor your brother any good like this.

They sit in strained silence while Mark gets himself back under control. Eventually Mark stands, and Benjamin follows suit. They stare at one another for a long moment.

BENJAMIN  
Go to bed.

MARK  
It's terrible of me, it's _awful_ , but sometimes, sometimes I wish that it was just over.  
That he had... that he was...

BENJAMIN  
Dead.

Mark makes an ugly noise, parts scream and part sob, and part choking on his own bile, and jams his knuckles into his mouth to stifle it.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
It's not an uncommon wish, Mark.

MARK  
God, don't say that!

BENJAMIN  
But I must. I'm the fairy-tale villain, remember? It is my job to say  
the things that no one wants to hear.

Mark shoots Benjamin a disgusted, pitying, hurt look. Benjamin takes that as his cue to leave. There are no lingering looks back.

The sound of the front door shutting is muted and miserable.

 

45     INT. JAMES' CONDO - JAMES' BEDROOM. NIGHT.     45

James is standing at the door to his bedroom. He's holding an empty glass, which he clearly meant to go fill until the fight in the living room caught his attention.

His expression is grim.

 

46     INT. THE MILL STREET BREW PUB. NIGHT.     46

James is out with his cop buddies. There's one or two still in uniform, drinking coffee, but the majority of the guys are in civvies, drinking beers and pounding each other's backs and generally goofing around in order to try to cheer James up.

James looks marginally better, more the right color, but he's sort of on the periphery of the evening.

James's partner RYAN is seated beside him, in the midst of telling a story.

RYAN  
\--so then Jamie here, he says, "No, man, I haven't paid yet!"

The assembled officers roar with laughter. James chuckles weakly, but he's really not all that amused. Or engaged, really.

He has a lot on his mind. His friends have to keep dragging him back into the moment. Someone reaches out at rubs his bald head, and James returns to the moment, laughs, and swats his college.

 

47     INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     47

James comes home from the bar. Hightower greets him at the door. He picks up the cat, slowly, and shuffles into the living room.

JAMES  
Mark?

Mark doesn't answer. This is because he's asleep at the kitchen table, face-down on a pile of paperwork. James grins mischievously, and sets the cat down right on his head. Mark jerks, Hightower freaks out and bolts, and Mark sits up, suddenly wide awake.

MARK  
Ouch! What the hell is wrong with you, you _mental cat--_

James starts howling with laughter. Mark pinches James hard, and James stumbles back, giggling, tripping over furniture.

Mark attacks, tickling, pinching, trying to get his brother in a noogie. It's like they're thirteen again and nothing at all in the world is wrong. They tumble all over the condo, until they collapse on the sofa.

JAMES  
Uncle! Uncle!

MARK  
Gotchya, punk.

James doubles over and starts hacking, coughing hard and unable to catch his breath.

MARK (CON'T)  
Shit! James? _James?_ Put your hands above your head.

Mark grabs James' arms and James shoves him away, and not playfully this time. He raises his arms on his own, coughing and glaring at Mark. After a few very uncomfortable moments, he stops coughing.

MARK (CON'T)  
Fuck. _Fuck._ I shouldn't have-- I'm _sorry_.

JAMES  
I'm fine.

MARK  
I shouldn't have. I know better, dammit. I can't--

JAMES  
Aw, stop it. I'm not that fragile.

MARK  
But you are! You are though, and--

JAMES  
I'm not!

MARK  
We shouldn't be roughhousing.

JAMES  
I'm _fine! Stop fucking treating me like I'm made out of goddamned glass!_

 

Mark is taken aback. He gapes at James, hurt. James scrubs his face with his hands, frustrated and annoyed.

JAMES  
Sorry. Shit. Sorry, man. I drank too much, I think. I should go to bed.

MARK  
James, I--

JAMES  
I'm fine. I'm sorry. I'm just tired.

MARK  
Maybe we should talk about--

JAMES  
I don't want to fucking _talk_ , okay?

MARK  
Well, you can't keep it all bottled up. Dr. Cummings said you  
haven't been to any of the group counseling sessions.

JAMES  
(snarky)  
Isn't it against patient confidentiality for your boyfriend to be  
discussing the details of my case with you?

MARK  
First, he's not my boyfriend. Don't be a punk. Second, I'm your primary caregiver contact.  
He has every right to call me and tell me when there's concerns about your recovery.  
There's more to getting better than just being injected with chemicals or cutting  
something out of your body. James, if you won't talk to me, at least talk to--

JAMES  
I fucking said 'no', okay? I don't want to sit in a room with a bunch of strangers  
whining about my life!

MARK  
You don't have to make it sound like it's a scene out of _RENT_. Maybe one of the   
guys from the station, then? You get along with your partner, maybe he can--

JAMES  
Are you out of your mind? I can't talk about this shit with Ryan.  
I can't talk about it to _anyone_.

MARK  
Why not?

JAMES  
Do you know how bad I'd get teased? I get enough shit from the guys for the cancer.  
I can't tell them it's _breast_ cancer. I can't tell them that I feel like shit all day,  
or like I'm scared I'm gonna die every time I close my eyes to sleep.

MARK  
(stricken)  
That's what you really think?

JAMES  
Fuck! See, this is what I mean. I can't say this shit to anyone, because you're  
all so goddamn _serious_. You take everything I say as a sign, or a ... an _indicator_  
of some great internal emotional turmoil, and it's not! I'm just _tired_ , okay!

MARK  
Okay. Okay! Chill out. I'm sorry I brought it up, alright?

JAMES  
Yeah, fine. Alright. Fuck. I'm going to bed.

James stands and walks toward his bedroom.

MARK  
Drink some water before you do. You're drunk and you look like shit.

James stops at the door, and without turning around lobs back:

JAMES  
(petulantly)  
_You_ look like shit.

Mark blurts out a surprised laugh.

MARK  
God, not you too. First Dr. Cummings, then Azita...

James turns back and stands in the hallway, watching Mark, softness returning to his demeanor.

JAMES  
Tonight's been the first time I've heard you laugh in...

MARK  
A while.

JAMES  
You should laugh more.

Mark  
Same to you.

James is clearly thinking something over.

JAMES  
You should... you should take care of yourself... more.

Mark squints at James.

MARK  
What?

JAMES  
I said that... that you should worry about yourself more.

MARK  
Who are you, and what have you done with my punk little brother?

JAMES  
Aw, shut up, man. I'm serious.

MARK  
So am I.

Mark stands, goes over to James, and puts his hand on James' forehead.

MARK  
Are you running a fever? Seeing pink elephants? Just getting drunk-philosophical?

James playfully pushes Mark away.

JAMES  
Shut-up, man. I'm being serious.

MARK  
Someone call Satan and warn him that hell is about to freeze over.

JAMES  
I'm just saying that... that you're gonna wear yourself out.  
You gotta sleep more, Mark. You gotta... get out, you know?  
Go hang with your friends.Go drinking with your buddies  
from work, or something.

MARK  
You _have_ met my partner, right? A thousand years old, no sense of humour?

JAMES  
Or _something._ Man, I can't be the center of your life forever.

MARK  
(amused)  
You're not the center of my life, punk.

James is silent. It's clear from the look on his face that he disagrees.

MARK (CON'T)  
You're not.

JAMES  
You have been living in my condo, nearly non-stop,  
for nine weeks, bro.

MARK  
That doesn't necessarily follow.

JAMES  
Have you been home at all? Even once?

Mark makes an evasive, dismissive noise and heads into the kitchen.

MARK  
I thought you were going to bed.

JAMES  
Oh, smooth transition. I liked that.  
Could barely even tell you were changing the subject.

Mark flips him the finger from behind the open door of the fridge.

JAMES  
Well, then if I'm really not the entirety of your life, when's  
your next date with Dr. McHottieHair?

Mark straightens, holding a beer, frowning at his brother.

MARK  
Really?

JAMES  
Really.

MARK  
Where is this coming from?

JAMES  
You're the one who just said that I'm not the be-all and end-all of your life,  
so that must mean there's someone else. Ergo, dating.  
And I saw the way you two avoided eye contact at my last check-in.

MARK  
We weren't avoiding eye contact!

JAMES  
(laughing)  
Oh my god, you're still a shit liar. You will always be a shit liar.   
How did you ever become a lawyer?

MARK  
Lawyers don't _lie._

JAMES  
Fine, fine, you exaggerate the truth. The point is, you and  
McHottieHair were acting like twelve year old girls.

MARK  
And that somehow equates with _dating_?

JAMES  
(teasing)  
Or are you just fucking?

MARK  
James!

JAMES  
'Cause if you are, good for you, just spare me the details.

MARK  
Oh my god. Just go to bed, you drunk.

JAMES  
Seriously, bro. Have you called him?

MARK  
No, I haven't. It would be unprofessional. He's your physician.

JAMES  
Not for much longer. One more hospital visit, and then I'm a free man.

Mark contemplates this.

JAMES (CON'T)  
You deserve happiness, Mark. You deserve something good in your life.  
Someone who appreciates you.

MARK  
(snorts)  
I don't think that's Dr. Cummings, James. Besides, I have you, don't I?

A beat.

JAMES  
Sure. Sure you do, bro.

James goes into his bedroom. Mark flops down at the kitchen table with his beer and resumes working.

 

48     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     48

James is officially in remission. Benjamin is justifiably smug about it. James is pleased but chill. Mark looks like all the exhaustion he's been putting off for the last nine weeks has come in all at once and slapped him in the face.

BENJAMIN  
I'm pleased with the results. There is no sign of remaining metastatic cells.  
If any remained after your surgery, then the chemo has entirely eliminated them. 

Mark frowns and rouses himself.

MARK  
You can be that certain?

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing, at the risk of sounding immodest, I am going to be, well, immodest.  
I am very, _very_ good at what I do.

MARK  
Right. Okay then.

BENJAMIN  
So, we've just got a little bit of paperwork for you, and  
then you may return to your life, Mr. Farthing.

James leans across the desk to sign with a massive grin.

The twins get up and move to leave.

James opens the door for his brother, Mark goes through, and then James lingers behind as Mark walks away. He turns to Benjamin, all joviality fled.

JAMES  
I just want it to be really, really clear, Doc, that I am a cop. I own a gun.

BENJAMIN  
I ... beg pardon?

JAMES  
Don't break his heart.

BENJAMIN  
(spluttering)  
I... I'm sorry, are you giving me a shovel talk?

JAMES  
I figured I better do it now, before Mum does. She's a battleaxe.

BENJAMIN  
I'm not _dating your brother._

JAMES  
Mark's always gotta be told what's good for him; I'm gonna be peeved if  
I have to start giving you orders, too. Stop being such a pussy.

Benjamin, agog, flaps his mouth at James, but no sound comes out. James nods once, firmly, smug, and leaves, shutting the door behind him.

Benjamin scrubs his hands through his hair, down his face, aghast. He stares in disbelief at the hydrangeas in the vase.

 

49     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     49

Mark is eating lunch at his desk, tie tossed awkwardly over his shoulder.

AZITA - his assistant, a middle-aged woman of Indian descent, very competent and well put-together - is standing beside his desk with a note pad. She is marking up his calendar as he speaks around the take-out he's shoveling into his face.

MARK  
Ah, and since I have Thursday afternoons back,  
see if you can get in touch with Dobson about, um--

AZITA  
The Okafur file.

MARK  
Yes, Okafur. Menzel and--

AZITA  
Tanya. With the custody?

MARK  
Baby Raquel.

AZITA  
Yes.

MARK  
I want to see what Child Services has dug up about the aunt.

AZITA  
I'll see if he has a packet ready.

MARK  
Great. Thanks. That's it, I think, Azita.

Mark turns his attention back to his takeaway and the files under his carton. His assistant, however, lingers.

A beat.

AZITA  
Mark.

MARK  
Hm? What? Yes?

AZITA  
Mark. I have been your assistant for seven years--

Startled, Mark's head jerks up.

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
Oh my god. Are you quitting? Is this you quitting?

AZITA  
\--and I have had the privilege to call this firm my home for twenty three.

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
Please don't quit!

AZITA  
So please understand that I have the utmost respect for you when I say--

Mark stands.

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
I can't do this without you right now!

AZITA  
\--that you really need to get the hell out of here.

MARK  
(deflating)  
What?

Azita snaps shut the calendar, reaches out and also snaps shut the lid of Mark's laptop. She takes his lunch out of his hands, closes the boxes, and hands it back.

AZITA  
Your brother is in remission. You haven't slept in three months. I cleared  
your schedule for the rest of the day, and tomorrow, too. Go. Home.

MARK  
But--

AZITA  
Go.

Mark collects his coat and briefcase and lunch, and, dazed, leaves.

Cut To:

 

50     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     50

Mark is staring at James' front door, a little shell-shocked.

Benjamin exits the elevator and walks down the hall, just returning home from work himself. His attention on his phone, and so he is startled into freezing when he realizes Mark is just... standing there.

BENJAMIN  
Mr... Farthing? Is... is everything all right?

MARK  
(in a small voice)  
My assistant kicked me out.

BENJAMIN  
(snorts)  
Well. It seems that there is, at last, someone you will listen to.

Mark  
She told me to go _sleep_.

BENJAMIN  
Sound advice.

MARK  
(childishly)  
I'm not allowed to go back for another whole day.

BENJAMIN  
(amused)  
Shocking.

MARK  
I wasn't even allowed to take my files. She _slapped my hand._  
Told me to go _home._

 

Mark blinks and looks around, then looks at the keys in his hand. 

MARK (CON'T)  
My house keys don't work.

BENJAMIN  
This isn't your house.

MARK  
It isn't? Oh.

Benjamin is starting to be a bit concerned now.

BENJAMIN  
Mr. Farthing? Mark? How long has it been since you last slept?

Mark  
Hmmm?

BENJAMIN  
Sleep. When did you last sleep?

MARK  
No, no, I don't have time to sleep. I have the...  
baby Raquel, you see. With her aunt.

BENJAMIN  
I'm sure that I don't see, Mark. But I know that you are in  
no position to help baby Raquel nor her aunt right now.

MARK  
Not helping her aunt. Heartless bitch.

Benjamin puts his own coat and briefcase down on the floor in front of his own door, shoves his phone into his pocket, and comes back to stand beside a swaying Mark.

BENJAMIN  
No, not the aunt then.

MARK  
No. Heartless bitch.

BENJAMIN  
Yes, you said that.

MARK  
Not supposed to, though. Not supposed to have an opinion.  
All the awful things in the world, all the terrible things human beings do to each other,  
and I'm not supposed to feel _any_ of it and it's _awful_.

Mark's face crumples. Benjamin gingerly removes the bag of take out and the keys from Mark's hands and opens the condo door.

BENJAMIN  
In you go, Mark. (calling out:) James? Officer Farthing? Are you in?

No answer. Hightower comes to the door, demanding scritches. Mark tries to bend down to pat him and sways into the wall.

MARK  
H'llo, menace.

Benjamin just barely catches him.

BENJAMIN  
This is absurd. I assume your guest room is this way.   
Come on, Mark, off we go.

MARK  
S'not _my_  cn'do.

Benjamin walks Mark toward the spare room at the end of the hallway. 

 

51     INT. JAMES' CONDO - SPARE BEDROOM. EVENING.     51

Mark flops down on the bed, face first. Benjamin allows a rare, affectionate, affected smile creep into the side of his lips. He bends down and pulls Marks shoes off.

MARK  
(slurring)  
Hey. Now you're takin' carea me.

BENJAMIN  
That I am.

Benjamin creeps out of the room.

 

52     INT. JAMES' CONDO. EVENING.     52

Benjamin finds a pad of sticky-notes on the dining room table and writes a note:

**MARK WAS DEAD ON HIS FEET. LET HIM SLEEP. I HAVE HIS KEYS.  --Dr. Cummings**

Benjamin creeps back to the door, toes Hightower away, sticks the note to the doorknob, turns off the lights, and shuts the condo door behind him.

 

53     INT. JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     53

The next morning. Mark looks healthy and well rested for the first time. He is curled up on the sofa in a robe and PJs with a giant mug of coffee. His hair is endearingly mussed and there are still pillow-creases on his face.

James comes in the front door. He's been grocery shopping, and the bag is filled with all sorts of post-chemo healthy foods, and one horribly sugary children's cereal.

MARK  
Mornin'.

JAMES  
Afternoon.

MARK  
Whatever.

JAMES  
You sound mellow.

MARK  
Coffee.

JAMES  
I can see that.

Mark wanders into the kitchen. He eyes the groceries James is unpacking and picks up the cereal.

JAMES (CON'T)  
Don't start.

MARK  
I wasn't going to start.

JAMES  
Uh-huh.

MARK  
Leave out the eggs. And those veg. Shove over.

James makes room for Mark at the counter. Mark starts washing and chopping vegetables. He cracks eggs, seasons, whisks in milk and butter, etc..

JAMES  
(genuinely pleased)  
Lordy, lordy, what a glorious day. I'm being treated to Mark Farthing's  
Famous Omelet. To what do I owe the honour?

Mark cuts him a dirty look.

MARK  
We're celebrating.

JAMES  
That we are.

MARK  
And you're doing the dishes.

JAMES  
Nope. I'm the man of the hour.

MARK  
If the man of the hour can do the dishes at Mum and Dad's house mid-chemo,  
then the man of the hour can do the dishes at his own house when his big brother cooks.

JAMES  
"Big".

MARK  
Hush.

James is about to say something snide, but Mark's phone, (lost under the papers on the dining room table), makes a noise and vibrates.

JAMES  
That yours or mine?

MARK  
Uh, probably yours. You know Azita won't let anyone text me today.

The phone makes another noise/buzz, and James hunts around the condo for it.

JAMES  
And that is why that woman is my hero. If she had a dick,  
I'd say you should marry her.

MARK  
(light)  
Please don't be crude about my magical assistant.

The phone makes the noise/buzz again.

JAMES  
Ah-ha! Oh, it is yours. "I just want to check in to see if you slept well."

MARK  
Don't read my texts!

JAMES  
Then password protect your phone! "Your brother retrieved your keys when he got in.  
I was also hoping your original offer of coffee might be..." Oh ho! Maaaark.

Mark lunges out of the kitchen and tries to snatch his phone back, and it turns into a game of keep-away. Both brothers are filled with joy, and life, and are happy with the world.

MARK  
Don't you dare!

JAMES  
So you _are_ chatting with Dr. McHottieHair after all.

MARK  
We're not _chatting_.

JAMES  
He has your number and you invited him out for coffee.

MARK  
I _brought_ him a coffee as an apology and he texts me because  
I'm your primary caregiver.

JAMES  
Sure, and you think he pays such special attention to all of his patients?

MARK  
Are you suggesting he gave you special treatment?

JAMES  
I'm suggesting he wants to give _you_ special treatment.

Mark manages to grab the phone and immediately drops it into his underwear to keep James from snatching it back.

JAMES (CON'T)  
If you think sticking it next to your junk is going to keep me from--

The phone dings and buzzes again, and Mark makes a scandalized, kind of queasy face.

JAMES (CON'T)  
You had the vibrate-mode still on?

Mark nods. He points at the kitchen and the abandoned omelet.

MARK  
Don't touch that.

Mark heads for the spare bedroom.

 

54     INT. JAMES' CONDO - SPARE BEDROOM. DAY.     54

Mark retrieves his phone and reads the texts.

TEXT: **DR. C: I just want to check in to see if you slept well.**

TEXT: **DR. C: Your brother retrieved your keys when he got in. I was also wondering if your original offer of coffee might be available for renewal.**

TEXT: **DR. C: Perhaps not.**

TEXT: **DR. C: Or perhaps you are still sleeping?**

The phone vibrates and dings in Mark's hand, three times in quick succession:

TEXT: **DR. C: Congrats again on James' remission. This means, of course, that I am no longer his physician.**

TEXT: **DR. C: In case you were still worried.**

TEXT: **DR. C: Mark?**

Mark waits for another text, but one doesn't come. He opens up the composition window, and hesitates. He writes:

TEXT: **ME:** **Did James put you up to this?**

Mark immediately deletes that. Instead he writes, and sends:

TEXT: **ME:** **I'm awake.**

The reply is nearly immediate.

TEXT: **DR. C: Excellent! Coffee?**

Mark grins like a twitterpatted school boy, then catches himself, and scrubs the smile off his face. He replies.

TEXT: **ME: Not yet.**

Again, a nearly instantaneous reply:

TEXT: **DR. C: "Not yet" suggests "later."**

Mark replies:

TEXT: **ME: How clever of you to figure that out. Are you a doctor or something?**

Mark forces himself to set the phone down on the nightstand. Then he lifts his nose into the air and sniffs. He scowls.

MARK  
James! I told you not to touch the eggs!

Mark dashes back toward the kitchen.

 

55     EST. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME. DAY.     55

Mark's car is in the driveway.

 

56     INT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME - KITCHEN. DAY.     56

MUSIC: A return of the piano, violin and guitar theme, now bright and confident.

Mark, James, Diane and Oliver are standing around the kitchen table with champagne flutes and a half-decimated plate of nibbles between them. Oliver is struggling with a champagne cork. Diane takes the bottle from her husband and opens it.

Mark snaps a picture at the absolutely perfect moment, and then, slyly, as Diane is pouring the champagne, he texts it to someone.

Mark shoves his phone in his pocket, and they have a toast. James raises his glass high with his left hand, winces a little, and clinks. As they all drink, he rubs his left pec. 

 

57     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     57

Benjamin is wrapping up with a client, an OLDER WOMAN with her DAUGHTER. The daughter is sobbing and clinging to her dying mother, but the older woman is resigned.

Benjamin sees them out, and then returns to his desk. He takes a moment to compose himself, scrubbing at his face and displacing his curls. His stoic-doctor mask has fractured and he looks heartbroken and haggard.

He pulls his phone out of his desk drawer, and opens his text messenger. Mark has sent Benjamin the champagne photo. 

TEXT: **MARK: (PHOTO)**

TEXT: **MARK: I thought you'd appreciate a Happily Ever After for your folder of Fairy-Tale memories. You defeated the dragon this time.**

Benjamin checks his watch. Yes, he has time to reply.

The following text conversation happens with inter-cuts between Benjamin's office and the Farthing Family Kitchen:

Benjamin texts:

TEXT: **ME: Thank you. Very thoughtful. Is that your mother?**

TEXT: **MARK: Yeah, and Da in the background.**

TEXT: **ME: You resemble her more than him. James too.**

TEXT: **MARK: Yeah, it's like we're identical twins, or something. Strange.**

TEXT: **ME: Ha ha.**

TEXT: **MARK: (:p)**

TEXT: **ME: Emoticons? How juvenile.**

TEXT: **MARK: (party cracker) (stars) (champagne flute) (cake) (smug face)**

TEXT: **ME: Mark.**

TEXT: **MARK: (:P) (rude gesture) (wine) (poop) (kissy face)**

TEXT: **ME: (kissy face) (question mark)**

TEXT: **MARK: James stole my phone. Asshole. Sorry.**

TEXT: **ME: Another sibling thing that I wouldn't understand?**

TEXT: **MARK: No, this is a straight-guy thing. You have straight friends, right? Wierdos.**

TEXT: **ME: (thumbs up)**

TEXT: **MARK: That's the spirit! (champagne flute)**

TEXT: **ME: Are you really drinking that much? Does each emoji indicate a new glass? If so, I sincerely hope you're not driving tonight.**

TEXT: **ME: Mark?**

TEXT: **ME: Mark?**

Benjamin hesitates for a moment and then writes:

TEXT: **ME: Thank you for the Happily Ever After. I was just defeated by the dragon, and having to tell the damsel was wretched. Your photo has reminded me why I still bother to put on my armor every day.**

There is a long moment, and then Mark texts back:

TEXT: **MARK: We'll build you a whole mind-palace filled with Happily Ever Afters.**

 

58     INT. THE MILL STREET BREW PUB. NIGHT.     58

MUSIC: The piano, guitar and violin shift to a faintly ominous tone.

James is out with his colleagues again. His hair is growing back in, though it's still prickly and tufty. Ryan is seated beside him. They both have beers, though James' is only half finished. Ryan swigs off the last swallow of his own.

RYAN  
One more?

JAMES  
Uh. Naw, man. I'm good.

RYAN  
You've turned into a health nut.

JAMES  
Better late than never.

RYAN  
Ha! I'm buying you another one anyway, and you have to drink it.  
This is your last weekend as a free man.

JAMES  
It wasn't exactly a vacation I was on, partner.

RYAN  
You had four months off! Come on, on Monday you'll be back in the cruiser with  
me and we'll have to be good. Have another beer. Don't be a pussy.

JAMES  
Yeah, fine.

RYAN  
There's my man back again!

Ryan staggers to the bar. James pours most of his beer into Ryan's empty pint glass.

 

59     INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     59

James staggers in the front door, drunk and feeling no pain.

JAMES  
Menace?

Hightower mews, and James sticks his head into the living room to find Mark and the cat on the sofa. Mark is texting with Benjamin.

JAMES (CON'T)  
Traitor.

MARK  
It's not my fault Hightower loves me best.

JAMES  
You're going to steal him when you move home tomorrow, aren't you?

MARK  
Maybe.

James makes a drunken attempt at a rude gesture. He rollicks his way up the hall toward his bedroom.

 

60     INT. JAMES' CONDO - JAMES' BEDROOM. NIGHT.     60

James lists in his doorway.

MARK (O.S.)  
Night! Drink some water!

JAMES  
Aw, fuck off, mother hen.

MARK (O.S.)  
Love you too, bro!

James snorts and shoves open the door.

 

61     INT. JAMES' CONDO - JAMES' BEDROOM. NIGHT.     61

James clumsily undresses as he staggers toward the bed. He grabs a bottle of water from the nightstand and drains it.

In only his boxers, he catches sight of himself in the mirror. He has lifted his left arm to drink, and this gives him the perfect view of his surgery scar.

He switches the bottle to his other hand and steps closer to the mirror, inspecting the scar. It is small, and white, and nearly invisible under his hair.

It still freaks him out, though - his lips thin, his eyes go tight, and his hand is shaking when he puts down the bottle of water and turns to the closet.

One of his uniforms, fresh-pressed and ready to go, is in a see-through drycleaner's bag. He pulls it out of the closet and hangs it on a hook on the back of the door.

He looks back and forth between the uniform and the mirror. He touches his abs and his arms - he's thin, almost scrawny from his illness. He rubs a hand over his head.

He cups his pectorals and palpitates them, searching. Worried.

He drops his hands, abruptly, face shuttered.

James walks over to the safe at the top of his closet, punches in the code, and takes out the gun. He sits on the side of the bed and inspects it, taking it apart a little, looking into the barrel. The ammo is still in the safe.

He reassembles the gun and sets it down on the bedside table. He looks up at the ammo.

From off screen, the annoying sound of a ringtone. James jumps.

MARK (O.S.)  
(laughing)  
Benjamin Cummings! What a surprise. Well, you've never called before... uh-huh.  
Well, yes... okay, I can see that... Oh, is this going going back to your weird phobia  
about shaking hands?No, you _are_ going to have to explain it one day. Uh-huh. James?  
Oh, he's passed out in his room. Had one last drunk-up with his buddies before he  
returns to work on Monday. Mmm-hmmm...

Through all of this, James listens at the door, smiling faintly. He turns back to the gun, scowls at it, picks it up, and puts it back in the safe.

 

62     EXT. JACK LAYTON PARK. DAY.     62

Unbeknownst to Mark and Benjamin, they are currently in the same park. They are on opposite sides. Benjamin is near a ferry terminal, under a green-roof awning in his exercise gear; he's headed to Toronto Island for a run.

Mark is walking down the tree-lined boulevard toward the terminal, the parkland on one side of him, the water on the other. He is carrying a cloth bag of produce from the harbour-front farmers' market.

There are hydrangeas in a paper wrapper in Mark's sack.

They are on the phone with one another, and we cut back and forth between them during this conversation as appropriate.

MARK  
\--moved everything back home yesterday, and of course my fridge was empty, so then I had to go to the farmers' market.

BENJAMIN  
Is it odd?

MARK  
Being at home alone, you mean?

BENJAMIN  
Yes.

MARK  
A little. I guess? I think I miss Hightower more than James right now.

BENJAMIN  
Hightower?

MARK  
The cat. You know, from _Police Academy?_

BENJAMIN  
Is that a film?

MARK  
(laughing)  
Oh god! Okay. Okay. As soon as I've managed to get my place back in order,  
you're coming over. I'll make dinner and we'll watch the film that  
_convinced_ my brother than he _needed_ to be a cop.

BENJAMIN  
I must have missed it while I was in school.

MARK  
You can't tell me you were _that_ dedicated to your studies as kid.

BENJAMIN  
I wanted to be a doctor from a very young age. I was focused.

MARK  
So focused that you totally missed _Police Academy_.

BENJAMIN  
Yes. Is that odd?

MARK  
I guess not. Alright. We'll have to fix that. Maybe we'll have a regular movie nights,  
get you all caught up.

BENJAMIN  
I would... I would like that. Very much. Mark.

MARK  
Good. I, I would, too. Like it. I mean. I... (laughs) God.  
I've turned into a thirteen year old again.

BENJAMIN  
No more than I.

MARK  
It's been so long since I've done this.

BENJAMIN  
I have... never.

MARK  
Never?

BENJAMIN  
Passing stranger... you do not know how longingly I look upon you.  
You must be he I was seeking. It comes to me, as of a dream.

MARK  
Are you quoting _Whitman_ at me?

BENJAMIN  
Yes?

MARK  
Was that _rehearsed?_

BENJAMIN  
(cagey)  
...perhaps?

MARK  
Oh my god, you colossal dork.

BENJAMIN  
Was it... was it not good?

MARK  
It was fine. A but unexpected. But fine. It was... nice.

BENJAMIN  
I thought poetry was supposed to be romantic.

MARK  
It is. It's just... no. It was romantic. Thank you. A bit early in  
the proceedings,I'll admit. But welcome.

BENJAMIN  
The truth of the matter, Mark, is that I've... I've never really taken  
... a risk... like this.

MARK  
You cut people open every day.

BENJAMIN  
That is not a risk. That is a calculated procedure which I have perfected  
and at which I am the top of my field.

MARK  
Then going to med school...?

BENJAMIN  
Also not a risk. My parents are both doctors, I had plenty of support  
and preparation, and my marks have always been extraordinary. It was  
hard work, but not a risk. I knew I would have no problems finding work,  
either because of my education or because of my skills, or because of  
my connections. Med school was... _easy._

MARK  
And I'm not.

BENJAMIN  
Correct.

MARK  
I'm not certain if I should be insulted by that.

BENJAMIN  
What I mean is that... I find myself... questioning.

MARK  
What? Me?

BENJAMIN  
No, me. You care Mark, openly and easily. It comes to you naturally. And I find I  
have to remind myself to text you back, to say 'thank you', to... to make it clear,  
every time we communicate that you are... on my mind. That you are in my thoughts.

MARK  
Relationships aren't meant to be hard work, Ben. Don't change who you are for me.  
I know who you are and what you're like, remember?

BENJAMIN  
Which is why I don't _want_ to just be me, Mark. I have lost, ah... opportunities before by  
_just being myself._  Nobody wants to be with that version of me.  
The cold, arrogant one. I want... I want you to want me.

MARK  
I do.

BENJAMIN  
Are you certain? Are you _sure_ Mark? Because I... I have never felt this... this... _deeply_ before.  
I have never felt this... _raw_. I am doing my best to be honest, to be the sort of person  
who deserves all your care and attention and I... if I break down these  
walls to allow you in and you walk away, I don't know if I can... if I can rebuild...

Mark is stunned by this confession. He comes to a stop under a big shady tree, moved.

MARK  
Benjamin...

Benjamin, scanning the park idly, spots him. Mark is shuffling a bit, nervous, unsure what to say.

BENJAMIN  
Mark, are you... are you in Jack Layton park?

MARK  
(confused)  
Yes. Why?

BENJAMIN  
I... I think I see you.

MARK  
You're here?

Mark looks in the wrong direction.

MARK (CON'T)  
Where?

BENJAMIN  
Turn around.

Benjamin strides toward Mark across the grass.

MARK  
Ben?

BENJAMIN  
Mark. Watch me. Don't look away.

MARK  
Why?

BENJAMIN  
Because I am about to take a risk.

Mark's hand falls to the side, phone forgotten. A few paces away, Ben tosses his own phone into the grass, walks right up to Mark, and seizes his face between his large hands and, confident, swoops in and kisses Mark.

Mark seizes Benjamin’s arms and he returns the kiss. It grows passionate. And then, smirking, proud of himself, Mark takes a step back a little, and they remain in a half-clinch.

MARK  
Well. _Well._

BENJAMIN  
Was that good?

MARK  
Poetry and a snog in one day? I'm a lucky man.

BENJAMIN  
I could make you luckier, if you like.

Mark smirks. He bends down and picks up his bags. Benjamin retrieves his phone. They walk out of the park.

 

63     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. DAY.     63

Benjamin's condo is much, _much_  larger than James', and faces the water. It too is open plan, and laid out nearly identically to James' but that's where the similarity ends.

It tastefully appointed, nearly staged, and sterile. Benjamin's furniture is mostly white, his dining room table and chairs are the clear plastic kind. His furnishings are _expensive_ , and his belongings and art are all precisely placed on shelves as if they were museum exhibits.

The men tumble in the front door, keys, phones, market backs, groceries, and sneakers flying as they tussle and snog their way toward the bedroom.

 

64     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO - BEDROOM. DAY.     64

They slow down a bit once they hit the bedroom. Again, this room is extremely tasteful and wealthy. The carpet is plush, there's a wall with a fireplace and a large flat-screen television opposite the bed, and the door to a massive walk-in closet is ajar. The bed, king-size of course, is very masculine but nearly opulent in the choice of fabrics - a cashmere throw, high thread-count sheets, a muted grey jacquard duvet cover, etc.

Mark reaches up to undo the zip on Benjamin's running shirt. Benjamin retreats a little. It's not a recoil, but it's a shock.

MARK  
Shhhh. Shhh. It's okay.

BENJAMIN  
I... Mark...

MARK  
We can.. if you want... start slow... we don't have to...

BENJAMIN  
No. No, I want... I _want_.

He opens his arms, allowing Mark access. They undress each other slowly, and licking his lips, feeling both brave and wicked, Benjamin pushes Mark down to sit on the edge of the bed, and kneels between his legs and gives Mark a hand-job, peering up at Mark through his lashes coyly.

Mark is startled, and thrilled. His eyes flutter closed, and his head falls to the side like an overripe poppy.

 

65     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO - BEDROOM. DAY.     65

Mark and Benjamin are napping, drowsy and pleased. Mark is more asleep than Benjamin, and Benjamin is watching Mark sleep through his lashes. For the first time we see a soft, natural smile on his face.

He reaches out to brush a loose hair off of Mark's cheek, one of his own, and Mark grunts and wakes up, turns to face Benjamin. He captures Benjamin's hand and starts kissing up his fingers.

MARK  
Mmmm. I love these hands. Nice long fingers. Dexterous. Strong.

BENJAMIN  
My mother despaired that I had no musical talent. Perfect for violin. Or piano.

MARK  
(smarmy, leering)  
You played me pretty well, just now.

Benjamin laughs and it is free, and honest.

MARK (CON'T)  
Your hands are beautiful.

BENJAMIN  
Thank you.

Benjamin slowly grows uncomfortable by the attention and tugs his hand away.

MARK  
What is it?

BENJAMIN  
Nothing, it's fine.

He tucks his hands under his armpits and shifts, extremely awkward now. Mark sits up and studies Benjamin's body language.

MARK  
It's not fine. What is it?

BENJAMIN  
It's... it's not you.

MARK  
Then it's you?

BENJAMIN  
No it... uhg! It's just... it's the... it's something someone said, once,  
and it's completely irrelevant. Shall we order in some Thai?

Benjamin sits up and flings aside he blankets. Mark stops him with a hand on his arm.

MARK  
Whoa. Slow down. Did I say something wrong?

BENJAMIN  
No. Not _you_.

MARK  
Then someone else.

BENJAMIN  
It's _irrelevant_.

MARK  
Clearly it's not, if it's bugging you this much. Come on.

BENJAMIN  
I don't... you'll just...

MARK  
I won't laugh or anything. (pause) Okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.

Feeling rejected, Mark scooches by Benjamin and steps out of the bed, giving the camera a lovely show. He pulls on his underwear and pants. Benjamin reaches out and grabs his hand, twining their fingers.

BENJAMIN  
It's surgeons' hands, do you see?

MARK  
(warmly)  
No. I don't. But why don't you explain it to me.

Mark lets Benjamin tug him back down onto the bed, and they curl around one another. Benjamin holds up his hands, spreads them wide in a shaft of sunlight.

BENJAMIN  
Surgeon's hands. My hands are my life, Mark. I don't shake hands.  
I don't hold hands. I don't... these are _my life_.  
And I daren't put my life into someone else's... hands. Do you see?

Mark grins, and rolls over on top of Benjamin. He grabs Benjamin's wrists and pins his arms above his head, and kisses him thoroughly.

MARK  
Then I am extremely flattered that you have allowed them to fall into mine. Trust me, Ben.

BENJAMIN  
I do. I am.

Mark lets go of Benjamin's hands so Benjamin can push Mark's clothes back off.


	2. ACT TWO

66     EXT. MOUNT PLEASANT CEMETERY. DAY.     66

Mark and Benjamin are having a romantic walk through the very picturesque cemetery. Benjamin makes a point of deliberately reaching out and taking Mark's hand.

MARK  
Bold.

BENJAMIN  
Risk-taking.

Mark pulls Benjamin along to a row of headstones that say "Farthing".

BENJAMIN  
Is this...

Mark pats the headstone of Roger Farthing affectionately. He's smiling.

MARK  
Yup. This is Uncle Rog, and that's Aunt Nel.  
They came across after the war, with Nan and Grandad.

BENJAMIN  
(teasingly)  
That explains the faint British accent.

MARK  
What are you talking about, you bloody toff wanker?

They laugh and kiss.

BENJAMIN  
Should you be doing this in front of your family from the old country?

MARK  
Rog always told me to bring round a proper fit bloke.

More kissing.

BENJAMIN  
This isn't exactly how I envisioned meeting the family.

MARK  
Oh, don't think you've gotten out of it. As soon as my mother  
finds out you exist, you'll be dragged to Sunday Dinner. Da still makes a  
tough old roast, just like his mum made.

BENJAMIN  
(sarcastic)  
You make it sound so appealing.

MARK  
That's the cost of being in a real relationship.

BENJAMIN  
Then I suppose I will have to pay up.

Mark is thrilled to hear it, and lights up. They embrace, easy and comfortable, and Mark looks down at the graves.

MARK  
Thank you.

BENJAMIN  
For what?

MARK  
For keeping my baby brother on this side of the grass.

BENJAMIN  
For another fifty years, at least.

MARK  
Good enough. Fifty more years of chasing my brother around sounds perfect.

BENJAMIN  
Fifty years of being a mother hen?

MARK  
Yup.

Benjamin kisses Mark again, and it is sweet, and tender.

MARK (CON'T)  
What was that for?

BENJAMIN  
For giving so much. You take care of  
everyone around you, Mark. I want to take care of you.

MARK  
(laughing)  
For the next fifty years?

BENJAMIN  
Yes.

Mark didn't realize that Benjamin was being so serious.

MARK  
Okay. Whew. Okay. Well... let's get past meeting the family  
before we start talking about the next fifty years, okay?

BENJAMIN  
Okay.

MARK  
What brought this on?

Benjamin leans out to brush the names on the headstones next to Roger.

BENJAMIN  
"Muriel Harris, beloved wife, sister, and mother of three." What life did she live, do you  
think? Did she fight with her husband? Were their last words ones of love or hatred?  
Did she pass on her pie recipe before she went? But look, Mark... nothing  
about what she did for a living. It doesn't say shopkeeper or maid, or CEO. Or surgeon.

MARK  
Or lawyer. The important thing is that she is remembered in love. She lived in love. It's not what she did.

BENJAMIN  
It's how she... loved. And I...

MARK  
You do good things. You save lives.

BENJAMIN  
But I don't live my own. I don't... socialize with my colleagues. I don't  
talk to families. I barely call my own. I am afraid of holding hands.

He reaches out, and Mark takes his hand.

BENJAMIN  
I don't want to die. I don't want to have to face the dragon and think,  
I will not be remembered in love. I've been wasting my life.

MARK  
No.

BENJAMIN  
I have. But I don't want to. Not anymore.

They kiss.

BENJAMIN  
I have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you, All is recall'd as we flit  
by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured, You grew up with me,  
were a boy with me, or a girl with me, I ate with you, and slept with you--  
your body has become not yours only, nor left my body mine only,  
You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we  
pass--you take of my beard, breast, hands, in return. Mark. Teach me.

Mark laughs at Benjamin's poetry-reciting, free and joyful.

 

67     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     67

The next day. Mark has a silly "I just got laid" grin on his face. Azita brings him a file, and grins at him and gestures to his neck.

AZITA  
Nice.

Mortified, Mark does up his collar so the love-bite is hidden.

AZITA (CON'T)  
Your three o'clock is here.

MARK  
(delighted)  
Ah, yes. The bi-- ...the aunt. Show her in.

AZITA  
Yessir. Also, your mum called. Your brother said something about you  
bringing someone to Sunday dinner and she was pumping me for gossip.

Mark blushes intensely.

MARK  
That meddling little asshole.

AZITA  
And this is why I'm glad my sister is still in Bangledesh.  
I've got your reservations for Luma confirmed for tonight,  
but better text Dr. McHottieHair and confirm with him  
about Sunday before you end up gazing into his eyes over dessert and forget.  
I'll give you five before I show in your meeting.

MARK  
(spluttering)  
I don't... I'm not... how do you even know that nickname?

Azita laughs and exits.

 

68     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     68

Benjamin and Mark, slightly tipsy from dinner, spill out of the elevator. Mark heads for James' condo, and Benjamin steers him toward his own.

BENJAMIN  
Wrong way, darling.

MARK  
(snorts)  
Darling?

BENJAMIN  
You don't live there anymore.

MARK  
Yeah, I know, just... gimmie five. I wanted to check in with James about  
Sunday dinner and the little punk hasn't replied to my texts all evening.  
Go, go, I'll be there in a minute.

Benjamin goes into his condo. Mark unlocks and opens James' door, knocking as he enters.

 

69      INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     69

MARK  
James? Are you in?

Hightower meows plaintively and runs out of the hallway, chirping at Mark.

MARK (CON'T)  
Hightower? Did he go out and forget to feed you? Or did you really miss me that much?

Hightower immediately goes back down the hall.

MARK (CON'T)  
Huh. James?

Mark hesitates a moment, and then he follows the cat.

 

70     INT. JAMES’ CONDO- JAMES' BEDROOM. NIGHT.     70

Mark opens the bedroom door.

MARK  
James? Hightower?

James is on the bedroom floor. He is utterly passed out, and his coloring is terrible. There is a small pool of blood under his head, from a sluggishly-oozing cut on his forehead. He hit the bedside table on his way down.

MARK  
Holy shit! Ben! _Ben!_

 

71     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - A HOSPITAL ROOM. NIGHT.     71

James is in the bed, hooked up to a breathing machine and looking gray. There are stitches on his forehead, in the middle of a large lump.

Mark is sitting by his bedside, holding James' hand and staring at his brother's face, utterly ignoring Benjamin.

Benjamin is standing on James' other side, a labcoat over his nice dinner clothes. He is clutching his clipboard and looking ruffled and tired. He is  _devastated_  by the news he is about to impart.

BENJAMIN  
I fear, James, that the original operation was... ah... not as successful as I had... um...

JAMES  
Promised.

BENJAMIN  
_Assumed_. Cancer is a tricky beast, and even a single cell escaping our cull can...

Mark swings a furious glare up to Benjamin.

MARK  
Then why did you say... why did you... _you..._

Benjamin is stunned by the hurt in Mark's voice. He swallows hard, trying to reign his own emotions in.

BENJAMIN  
I am rarely wrong, Mark. But rarely is not never.

JAMES  
So?

Benjamin blinks himself out of his desperate staring contest with Mark and addresses James.

BENJAMIN  
The reality is this - you passed out earlier, James, because you were short of breath.  
The breast cancer metastasized.

He holds up a medical image showing the small, deadly lumps sprinkled throughout his chest.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
This form of cancer is aggressive. From your breast tissue it spread to your lungs.  
As you can see, it is not limited to a small area. If it were, we could remove that lung tissue--

JAMES  
I'd never be a cop again!

Benjamin stops, blinks, unsure how to address this. In the past, he would wait until the patient was finished ranting and complete his sentence. Now he looks to Mark for guidance on how to _care_ more. But Mark's face is turned away.

BENJAMIN  
(clears throat)  
Yes. Likely. But you'd have lived.

JAMES  
But you said this wasn't operable.

Benjamin opens his mouth to reply, pauses, clears his throat, fiddles with this papers, and finally, in a very small voice, says:

BENJAMIN  
James. James, I'm... I'm _sorry_.

Mark jumps to his feet and storms out of the room. Benjamin doesn't know what to do. He looks to James. James turns his face away.

Utterly bereft, Benjamin slips out of the room.

 

72     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - A HALLWAY. DAY.     72

Mark is leaning forehead-first against the wall outside of James' room. His fists are clenched, his whole body rigid. He is biting his lower lip so hard the skin has gone white.

Benjamin exits the room. He puts his notes into the hanging folder on the wall beside the door, and approaches Mark the way you'd approach a rabid dog.

BENJAMIN  
Mark...

Mark holds up a palm, firm, commanding Benjamin to stop. Benjamin stops.

Mark leans back, eyes still on the floor, jaw tight, and says:

MARK  
You were _sure_.

BENJAMIN  
I'm sorry.

MARK  
You're supposed to be the best. You _promised_.

BENJAMIN  
This isn’t a fairy-tale. I'm only human.

Benjamin closes the distance, aiming to hug him. Before he can, though, Mark shoves him back hard, against the wall. Hard enough that the painting beside Benjamin's head rattles.

Mark is distraught and seething, his hands fisted in Benjamin's lapels. He shoves Benjamin back again, hard, and then a third time. Benjamin doesn't resist.

He puts his hands on Mark's, trying to pry away his hold, and when that doesn't work, he cups Mark's neck, his jaw, trying to be gentle.

MARK  
You _asshole_.

BENJAMIN  
Mark.

They wrestle, Benjamin trying to soothe, to direct the grappling in a softer, more comforting direction. Mark doesn't want to be soothed.

Mark starts sobbing.

MARK  
That's my brother. My _brother._

BENJAMIN  
I know. Shhh. I know. I'm sorry.

Eventually, Benjamin wins. He gets Mark wrapped up in his arms, tight and protective. Mark buries his face in Benjamin's chest and sobs.

MARK  
Don't leave me. Not you too. Please, please. I can't-- I can't.

BENJAMIN  
I'm here. I'm here, Mark. I'm staying.

They stand in the hallway, alone, the only thing holding each other up.

 

73     EXT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOUSE. DAY.     73

Mark, James, and Benjamin exit the car. James is shuttered, moving on autopilot. Benjamin tries to help him up the walk but James shrugs him off. Benjamin looks helplessly at Mark.

BENJAMIN  
I don't think I should be here.

MARK  
You were invited, and you said you'd come.

BENJAMIN  
Yes, but that was before...

Mark narrows his eyes at Benjamin.

MARK  
I need you. Please.

BENJAMIN  
I can't imagine that your parents want to meet me.

MARK  
You said you'd be here for me.

BENJAMIN  
I am... I just...

MARK  
(anger returning)  
Are you having second thoughts about us?

BENJAMIN  
No!

MARK  
Because I thought you were excited about this. About meeting my parents. About a 'real relationship.'

BENJAMIN  
Mark, please, be fair.

Mark waits for Benjamin to screw up his courage. Mark's own anger and pain is bubbling just below the surface. After a moment, he sighs, and shrugs, trying to shake off his foul mood, trying to be the caregiver that Benjamin and his parents both need. He kisses Benjamin, slowly, soothingly.

MARK  
(firmly)  
This doesn't change how I feel about you.

BENJAMIN  
It should.

MARK  
No. I won't let it.

 

74     INT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOUSE - KITCHEN. DAY.     74

James is seated in the living room, visible by everyone in the kitchen, but turned away and focused on the television, deliberately not engaging. Benjamin is being introduced around.

MARK  
... and this is my mother, Diane.

DIANE  
A pleasure.

BENJAMIN  
Likewise. This is for you.

He offers her a bottle of wine. Diane accepts it, then sticks out her hand for a shake. Benjamin shoots a desperate look at Mark misses it, focused as he is on his dad.

Benjamin screws up his courage and shakes her hand. Diane takes it after a moment of hesitation and slight panic. Her good manners win out, though. As soon as she lets go, Benjamin folds his hands behind his back.

Oliver, with twinkling eyes, reaches out and ruffles Benjamin's hair.

OLIVER  
Nice to meet you, Dr. McHottieHair.

BENJAMIN  
(spluttering)  
I... what?

MARK  
Oh my god. _Da_.

Diane and Mark laugh, some of the tension broken.

 

75     INT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME - DINING ROOM. NIGHT     75

Everyone has migrated to the dinner table. James is still disengaged, poking listlessly at his plate.

Benjamin clearly wants to say something about it, but Mark squeezes his knee and shakes his head and glowers. Benjamin takes a sip of wine instead of speaking.

OLIVER  
Of course, I didn't think that when my son came out as a pouf  
that he'd ever bring home a pretty one again. Looks like we were wrong.

DIANE  
Olly!

MARK  
(amused)  
Da, I've told you, we don't use that word.

BENJAMIN (OVERLAPPING)  
Pouf? Pretty one?

James, for the first time, engages. He starts laughing. Everyone else laughs too, though Benjamin is a little uncertain about the Farthing family's sense of humour.

OLIVER  
Don't give up hope now, Di. We might get those grandkids after all.

Oops. Awkward. Everyone looks at James, and he looks away, disengaged again.

MARK  
(attempting levity; failing)  
I could always knock up James' girlfriend. Twins, you'd never know the difference.

James chuckles.

JAMES  
I'd have to hold on to one, first, bro.

MARK  
Don't ruin mum's dreams, punk.

They look to Diane, hoping she'll join in, but the topic has hit too close to home. Diane is silently fuming, and finally, the dam breaks.

DIANE  
(to Benjamin)  
But James says you were sure.

OLIVER  
Diane, you agreed that you wouldn't bring this up.

Diane ignores her husband.

DIANE  
I just don't understand how it could have come back if you were _sure_.

BENJAMIN  
Nothing is ever entirely certain with cancer.

DIANE  
James _said_ you were sure. You said, and I quote, 'not to be immodest', but you're the best.

BENJAMIN  
I am also fallible. All doctors are.

MARK  
(the anger suddenly returning)  
Well, this is news to me!

Mark is just as shocked by what just came out of his mouth as Benjamin is hurt by it.

BENJAMIN  
What does _that_ mean?

DIANE  
(harsh and loud)  
Boys! Enough!

A ringing silence. James takes a breath to say something, but ends up coughing instead. It gets increasingly worse, and Mark stands to fuss at James.

MARK  
Lift your arms up...

BENJAMIN  
Mark, leave him. Don't--

MARK  
You shut up.

Benjamin stands and moves to help James, but Mark nudges him away.

BENJAMIN  
Fussing isn't--

MARK  
I said _shut up!_

BENJAMIN  
This isn't my _fault!_

JAMES  
(coughing)  
Mark, _fuck off_.

James shoves Mark away. Mark stumbles into Benjamin, and with no outlet for his frustration, pushes Benjamin.

OLIVER  
Boys!

Oliver tugs James into the kitchen, to get a glass of water. Benjamin has finally had enough, and shoves Mark back hard enough that Mark bangs into the dinner table and it skids a few inches.

DIANE  
Stop!

MARK  
What the fuck is wrong with you?

BENJAMIN  
I tried, Mark! I _tried!_ I did my best!

MARK  
Fuck you!

DIANE  
_Mark_!

The men watch each other warily, uncertain if the next movement will be to throw a punch. Eventually Benjamin remembers where he's standing, whose house he's in, and straightens. 

BENJAMIN  
I think it's time for me to depart.

MARK  
Yeah. I think that's a good idea.

Benjamin walks out of the kitchen toward the front door with as much dignity as he can muster.

 

76     EXT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME. NIGHT.     76

Benjamin waits by the curb, shivering in the chill evening air, for the cab he called. It pulls up and he gets in.

 

77     INT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME - DINING ROOM. NIGHT     77

Mark watches him go through the blinds. He is still angry. But when the taxi pulls away, he groans and scrubs at his face, miserable.

 

78     INT. JAMES’ CONDO- JAMES' BEDROOM. DAY.     78

Mark helps James into his bedroom. James bats him away.

JAMES  
I'm not an invalid. Not yet.

MARK  
I know, I just...

JAMES  
Mark.

MARK  
It's fine, I don't mind.

JAMES  
Well I do. Get out and let a man put on his PJs in peace.

MARK  
Are you sure?

JAMES  
Yeah. I'm fine. I want to still do all this stuff for myself while I can.

Mark makes a noise like a choked-on sob.

MARK  
James.

JAMES  
Mark I... I need you to promise me something.

MARK  
(small)  
Oh, god.

JAMES  
Mark.

MARK  
Yes, anything. What?

JAMES  
Don't... don't tell the guys on the force what it was, okay? Don't tell them... call it lung cancer.

MARK  
But that's--

JAMES  
Come on, let a guy keep his dignity in front of his bros.

MARK  
I don't think they'll care what kind of--

JAMES  
_Please_.

MARK  
I ... yes. Okay.

James has more to add, but he takes his time, chewing on it.

JAMES  
(tentative)  
Listen, Benjamin said something about palliative care, but I don't--

MARK  
Don't bring up that asshole right now.

JAMES (OVERLAPPING)  
I don't think that--

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
I'm so mad at that smug, self-important _cock_ that I could--

JAMES  
(shouting)  
_I can't do it again!_ Mark! ...I can't.

There is a stunned silence.

MARK  
Don't say that.

JAMES  
Why not? It's true. Mark, I'm tired.

MARK  
No!

JAMES  
I'm _tired._ I just want to sleep. I just want to... stop.

MARK

_No!_

James starts to shout back, but stops, sinking back to sit on the edge of his bed and press his hand against his chest.

JAMES  
I'm so tired.

 

79     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' condo. Night.     79

Mark slams out of the condo and stalks down the corridor to Benjamin's. He hammers on the door.

MARK  
Ben! _Ben!_ Get your ass out here _right now!_

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
(through the door)  
I think we've fought quite enough for one night, Mark!

MARK  
Come back with me and tell James that he's full of shit! Tell him that defeatist talk isn't.... I don't know! Just come tell him something! Tell him... _Tell him!_

The door opens only wide enough to frame Benjamin's face. Benjamin is confused.

BENJAMIN  
What? What do you want me to tell him?

Mark grabs Benjamin's arm and tries to lever him out the door, but Benjamin resists.

MARK  
I don't know! _Something!_ You're his doctor for Christ's sake!

BENJAMIN  
I thought wasn't welcome any more. I thought I was a _liar_. Well, don't worry,  
we can get your brother transferred to another doctor in the morning.

MARK  
(pleading; lost)  
Ben, please.

BENJAMIN  
... no.

MARK  
(furious)  
You utter ass! You selfish, unbelievable _prick!_ You wanted to learn how to care?  
Well do it _now!_ Be brave, for fucking once, and go into that room and be _human!_

BENJAMIN  
Don't! You don't get to tell me how to handle this! I have to watch people dying  
every hour of every day at work! Don't you _dare_ tell me that I have to go  
into that room and watch it happen now, too! I _can't._

MARK  
You selfish -- arrogant --

BENJAMIN  
Ah, yes, and now the invectives! The cursing! The blame! This, Mark,  
t _his is why I don't talk to the family!_ This is why I don't get involved! This!

MARK  
I'm not just 'family', I'm your--

Benjamin flings the door wide, in a towering fury.

BENJAMIN  
And you think that means you get the right to--

MARK  
You're supposed to _help people!_

BENJAMIN  
And who helps me? Hm? Certainly not you! Christ,  
and I wondered why I'd stayed single for so long!

MARK  
How dare you!

BENJAMIN  
I warned you that this is what my life was. I _told you_.

MARK  
I knew you had to deal with this. Do you think I didn't understand it?  
With what I do, every day? You think I don't understand how terrible real life  
could be? How tragic?

BENJAMIN  
It's not the same!

MARK  
Oh, it isn't? Because you have fancy hospital? A lab coat? Do you  
think you need to have a fancy medical degree to ruin people's lives?  
Because I do it every damn day in a courtroom!

BENJAMIN  
That isn't... that's not what I'm saying!

MARK  
I deal with the exact same shit you do, Ben, and it is. It's _shit._ But this is  
what relationships are for! To help each other through the shit!  
Only I didn't expect that you would be such a selfish _bastard._

BENJAMIN  
It's worked so far!

MARK  
Oh, yes, splendidly! Dr. Never-Had-A-Real-Relationship.

BENJAMIN  
Unbelievable!

MARK  
(quietly furious)  
Or maybe this is what you like to do! Lie to all of your  
patients about their chances! Or is it just the ones you want to fuck?

BENJAMIN  
(flustered; off-guard)  
_What?_

MARK  
(calm; cold)  
You're the one who said it. You fancied James, but you went  
for me. Why? Because I'm the easy one? That is what you said, right?  
Mark is _easy._

BENJAMIN  
Easy to _care about!_ Everything else in my life has been hard work,  
and you, there was no work at all. It just _happened. Easy._

MARK  
(scoffing)  
Or just easy to use? Mark, who cares too much... Mark, who wants  
to save the world! Easy enough to just let Mark take care of you, too!

BENJAMIN  
(emotional; miserable)  
Where are you getting this from? Did an ex...? I never said... Mark?

MARK  
_Shut up!_

BENJAMIN  
Mark, please, I didn't mean it like that. Whatever you ... y  
ou understood, I didn't mean--

MARK  
Oh god, you're just like the rest of them. I do this every time.  
I do this to myself _every goddamn time_.

BENJAMIN  
Mark, please, please don't. I couldn't plan on this. I didn't.  
I didn't want it to happen but it has. And I still... I lo--

Benjamin stops himself before he says it. He stands in the doorway, distraught and feeling helpless.

Mark's dangerous calm slowly becomes a real one, sad and quiet.

MARK  
This is fucking shit.

BENJAMIN  
It always is.

Mark laughs, but it's weak and self-deprecating.

MARK  
I... I think I see why you... makes you feel braver when you can treat it like a fictional creature.  
A dragon to slay.

BENJAMIN  
You're scared.

MARK  
Damn straight I am.

BENJAMIN  
It wasn't a question.

The two men stare at each other for a long moment. After a few seconds the misery and accusations evaporate, and Mark and Benjamin become aware of how close their anger has brought them to one another.

Mark takes a deep breath, and Benjamin sways closer, as if his mouth is magnetized and is seeking Mark's.

They don't kiss so much as rest their faces against one another's. Benjamin reaches up and pats back Mark's hair back, soothing and intimate.

Mark's face crumples. He starts to shake, gulping down on sobs.

BENJAMIN  
Shhh, shhh. Come inside.

MARK  
I... I can't... James. I want you to...

BENJAMIN  
There is nothing I can do, Mark. He needs the comfort of family. Not a doctor.

MARK  
I... I don't know...

BENJAMIN  
Go check on him, make sure he's okay, and then come here and I'll take care of you.

Mark snorts wetly at Benjamin's thin attempt at innuendo.

MARK  
I don't need someone to take care of me.

BENJAMIN  
Yes. You do. Go on.

They separate slowly, reluctantly, like cold molasses.

MARK  
I don't... know. What to say to him.

BENJAMIN  
He's likely asleep.

MARK  
And if he's... not?

BENJAMIN  
You can't pep-talk your brother out of this, Mark. You can care all you like,  
but it doesn't change... that reality is shit.

Mark wipes his nose and nods.

Benjamin swoops in for a quick, hard kiss. Then he steps back and closes the door, but leaves the deadbolt out so it doesn't close all the way.

 

80     INT. JAMES’ CONDO- JAMES' BEDROOM. NIGHT.     80

Mark pokes his head into James' room. James is indeed asleep. Hightower is curled up by his hand. The cat perks up and meows at Mark. Mark puts a finger over his lips and shushes the cat.

 

81     INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     81

Mark goes into the kitchen, and pours himself a glass of water from the tap. He takes a moment to pace around, drink, and breathe. He is clearly reviewing the conversation and starting to regret what he said. He pinches the bridge of his nose and hisses:

MARK  
God, Mark. You're a real asshole.

He puts his glass in the sink.

 

82     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. NIGHT.     82

Mark comes into the condo, looking tired and contrite. Benjamin has already poured them both snifters of brandy. The glasses are waiting on the coffee table and Ben himself is on the sofa.

Mark sits on the end of the sofa, away from Benjamin, but Benjamin tugs at him until Mark is laying back against his chest. Mark hands Benjamin a glass and then takes his own. They cheers softly.

MARK  
I'm afraid of spilling something. Why on earth do you have a white sofa?

BENJAMIN  
It makes the room look larger. James is asleep?

MARK  
Yeah. Yeah, I ... I want to apologize.

BENJAMIN  
There's no need.

MARK  
But I--

BENJAMIN  
It's not the first time I've taken the brunt of someone's fear.

MARK  
Yeah, but you're not just James' doctor, you're my ...

Mark wrinkles his nose in distaste.

BENJAMIN  
Lover?

MARK  
Boyfriend. I just hate that word. It's juvenile. We're two grown-ass men with advanced degrees.

BENJAMIN  
Partner.

MARK  
I have a partner, and I run the firm with him.

BENJAMIN  
Then I'm afraid boyfriend is the only option.

MARK  
Uhg. Ju-ven-ile.

Benjamin splays his hand against Mark's chest and rubs in circles, soothing. Both sip their brandy.

MARK (CON'T)  
I also want to apologize for my mum.

BENJAMIN  
You don't--

MARK  
But I do. You know I... and she didn't mean it either. Not really.

BENJAMIN  
Of course you meant it. Anger makes people more honest, not less.

Mark sets down his brandy and turns around to kneel between Benjamin's legs. He cups Benjamin's face in his hands.

MARK  
You have a right to protect yourself. However it is that you have to do it, to... stay sane.  
To keep it all separate...

BENJAMIN  
Mark, you don't have to--

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
No, listen. I'm an asshole. My mother's an asshole. This isn't about us,  
and this doesn't involve you. We're disappointed. That's not your fault.

Benjamin squirms, uncomfortable.

BENJAMIN  
If I'd insisted on more tests, I might have... I hate wasting hospital resources,  
and James looked good. He was... I could have caught it earlier, I could have--

Mark cuts him off with a kiss.

MARK  
I'm mad. I'm furious. But I can't... I'm not Mum. I can't  
blame you. I need you... Ben, I _need_ you and I can't... _please_...

BENJAMIN  
I'm here. You can have me, I'm here.

Mark surges against Benjamin, pinning him down, rolling his hips and devouring Benjamin's mouth. The next lines are delivered between bruising, biting kisses:

MARK  
I'm so angry.

BENJAMIN  
I know.

MARK  
I want someone to blame.

BENJAMIN  
I know.

MARK  
I want... god, I hate... I _hate_...

BENJAMIN  
I know. I... ah!

Mark starts biting down Benjamin’s neck, hands yanking at Benjamin's belt.

MARK  
You're such a fucking prick.

BENJAMIN  
Mark!

MARK  
You're arrogant, and self-important...

BENJAMIN  
Mark...!

MARK  
I could kill you.

He presses up and wraps his hands around Benjamin's neck. Just hard enough to be threatening, but not hard enough to cut off Benjamin's air.

BENJAMIN  
I would let you.

MARK  
I could _kill you_ for what you've done to James.

BENJAMIN  
Do it.

MARK  
(startled)  
What?

Benjamin leans up, straining so Mark's thumbs are pressed hard into his windpipe.

BENJAMIN  
Go on.

MARK  
No!

He jerks back, horrified. He puts his hands on Benjamin's tented knees. Ben surges up and wraps his hands into Mark's hair and bites his lip, hard.

BENJAMIN  
Punish me. Hate me. Use me, Mark. I'm yours. Whatever you want.

Mark and Benjamin tussle for control of first the kiss, then to dominate. Mark shoves Ben into the corner of the sofa hard, jerks his pants and underwear down and shoves up his shirt. 

Mark slides down the sofa, yanks and shoves and wrestles Benjamin's legs up until they are hooked over Mark's shoulders.

Benjamin flails and whines, reaching behind him and digging his fingers into the arm of the sofa.

This isn't a blow job, it's a _claiming._ Mark says a line each time he pauses for a breath:

MARK  
I can't... I can't lose you... too.

BENJAMIN  
You won't. Never. Mark... _Mark_.

MARK  
I don't care what anyone thinks. You're _staying_. You're _mine._

BENJAMIN  
Yes! ... _MARK!_

Benjamin comes hard, arching and wailing. Mark sits up, licking his lips, and then finishes off his brandy in one swig to kill the bitterness. He is breathless, shocky, surprised at his own aggressiveness.

When Ben finally comes back to himself, he leans up, wraps himself around Mark from behind, and slides one of his hands around Mark's throat, the other one down his pants.

BENJAMIN  
My turn.

He grins wickedly.

 

83     EXT. CITY STREETS. DAY.     83

Mark and Benjamin are strolling, hand-in-hand down the street. They each have a coffee in their other hands. They are a handsome couple, both in their sharp blazers and ties, on their lunch breaks.

BENJAMIN  
I've begun the paperwork to have myself removed as James' primary care oncologist.

Mark, whose mind had been on the display in the window beside him, whips his head around.

MARK  
What?

BENJAMIN  
It's a conflict of interest.

MARK  
But... you're the...

BENJAMIN  
Mark. There's nothing left to do but the paperwork.

Mark nods shakily, biting his lip, and looking away. He takes a sip of coffee, and his grip on Benjamin's hand tightens.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
I'm sorry.

He reels Mark in for a sweet, consolatory kiss.

 

84     INT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME - KITCHEN. NIGHT.     84

Mark, James, Diane and Oliver are standing around the kitchen island, reviewing paperwork. James slides onto a bar stool, a little winded. They are reviewing end-of-life care documents, James' will, and funeral arrangements. James pours himself a heavy tumbler of whiskey, and Diane breaks away from the paperwork to pull down three more tumblers. James dutifully pours.

The doorbell rings.

Mark, startled, looks at his watch.

MARK  
Shit.

DIANE  
Are you expecting...?

MARK  
No, ah. I told him to pick me up because I knew I would fall down the rabbit hole and totally miss our... ah.

Mark realizes at the last moment how awkward this is going to be.

DIANE  
You made plans to leave _early?_

MARK  
Mum, most of this is already settled. I thought...

DIANE  
Your brother--!

MARK  
Is sitting _right there_. I know the papers, Mum. I drew them up. I didn't think you'd mind--

DIANE (OVERLAPPING)  
I'd _mind_ \--?

MARK  
Sorry!

The doorbell rings again.

JAMES  
Go on.

MARK  
Are you sure?

JAMES  
Dumbass. Go.

Mark, relieved to have at least his brother's blessing, gathers his coat and briefcase, leaving the papers and folder, and goes.

DIANE and Oliver share a silent conversation in which she expresses her extreme displeasure as they overhear:

MARK (O.S.)  
Hi. Sorry. Hello.

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
I can come back if you're in the middle of-- mmm.

They're kissing. Diane stares at her husband in disbelief.

DIANE  
The doctor?

MARK (O.S.)  
What's this? Flowers? I know you're new to this but I'm not actually a fifteen year old girl.

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
They're for your mother, you magpie.

There is a hissed, quiet conversation that the occupants of the kitchen can't quite make out. They hear Mark sigh, and then footsteps coming toward them.

MARK (O.S.)  
Fine. This way.

They enter the kitchen. Everyone tenses. This is not a comfortable second meeting.

BENJAMIN  
Hello, again, Mrs. Farthing. Mr. Farthing.

OLIVER  
Oliver, please.

Oliver moves to shake Benjamin's hand, trying to be friendly, but Diane pins him in place with a withering glare. Oliver drops his hand and steps back.

Benjamin hands a fresh bouquet of hydrangeas to Diane. After a pointed hesitation, she takes them.

DIANE  
(tightly)  
Thank you.

Benjamin has another, small arrangement of blossoms still in his hand, and this he pins to Mark's lapel, gentle and intimate. He has something to prove to Diane.

BENJAMIN  
Perhaps I am not dating a fifteen year old girl, but you must allow me a _small_ touch of romance.

Mark laughs and kisses him softly. Benjamin smiles against his mouth. Oliver is amused and James is watching with a smug smirk, the gaze of a matchmaker triumphant. Only Diane is displeased with this display.

MARK  
Mmm. That damned adorable curl right there.

He tugs the curl on Benjamin's nape teasingly.

BENJAMIN  
Ready?

MARK  
Yeah. I can't read this stuff anymore. James, do you want a ride home?  
Ben's gotta swing by his place and change before we go out.

James is silent. Watching his brother has tumbled him back into his dark mood. He throws back his drink.

MARK (CON'T)  
James...?

Benjamin touches his arm and shakes his head. Mark sighs.

MARK (CON'T)  
Okay, call me if you change your mind. I can still swing by.

DIANE  
James will be staying here tonight.

It's said with such finality that it gets Mark's hackles up.

MARK  
Will he?

Mark cranes his head to see if James is agreeing with their mother. But he is still ignoring them.

MARK (CON'T)  
Right. Fine then. Bye Da.

OLIVER  
Bye. Have fun! Use a condom!

Benjamin snorts and laughs.

BENJAMIN  
I see where your brother gets it.

MARK  
(mortified)  
Oh my God.

The lovebirds head for the door.

 

85     INT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME - FOYER. NIGHT.     85

Benjamin steps outside, and Diane stops Mark just before he follows. She pulls him back inside.

MARK  
Mum!

DIANE  
I don't like this!

MARK  
Mum--

DIANE  
I mean it! He's cavalier, and arrogant... James...

MARK  
This has nothing to do with James.

DIANE  
Of course it--!

But Mark is fed up with her attitude.

MARK  
You know, mum, for once something can be about me!

DIANE  
(aghast)  
Mark!

MARK  
I mean, Jesus. I know he's dying, I know, I know it's terrible, but maybe you could spare  
half a thought for me, you know? "Marky takes care of Jimmy, and Jimmy has such a scary job, he's a cop!  
I'm so worried about him. When will he get a wife? When will he give me grandkids?"  
Have you _ever_ worried about me?

DIANE  
I hardly think this is an appropriate time--

MARK  
Then when, Mum? _When_ are you going to start worrying  
about my happiness? Now? Or are you going to wait until James is _dead?_

It's a low blow and Mark regrets it as soon as he says it. Benjamin steps back into the house and takes Mark's hand, comforting.

BENJAMIN  
Mark...

Mark gestures to Benjamin.

MARK  
James is happy for me! At least there's him!

DIANE  
I can't believe you're asking me to... of course I want you to be happy,  
but is this really the right time to be--

MARK  
Well, right this second, Benjamin Cummings makes me happy!  
And lord knows things aren't easy for him right now either, but he's here for me,  
at least. He _cares_. It's novel.

Mark pulls Benjamin out the door, and slams it shut behind him.

Diane is not a hard-hearted bitch, and we see her conflicting vulnerability as she tries to compose herself before returning to the kitchen.

 

86     INT. BANNOCK RESTAURANT. NIGHT.     86

Mark and Benjamin are seated at a nice little booth in the corner. They already have wine. Appetizers have been eaten, judging by the small, empty, crumb-speckled plates in front of them.

Mark is fingering his boutonniere and grinning.

MARK  
You're ridiculous.

BENJAMIN  
And you are a romantic.

MARK  
_I'm_ the romantic?

BENJAMIN  
It's one of the things I love best about you.

Mark looks up, a bit twitterpated by the 'l' word.

MARK  
(softly)  
There were hydrangeas... in the hallway. Where we first... where I was waiting.

BENJAMIN  
Were there?

MARK  
Yes. (teasing) Did you steal my mum's bouquet from work?

BENJAMIN  
No. I chose them because these are what you bought the day we kissed the first time.

MARK  
Did I? I suppose I picked them because they reminded me of you.

Mark leans across the table and they kiss again.

MARK (CON’T)  
(into Benjamin's mouth)  
You remembered what flowers I bought on the day we first kissed.  
I'm not the _only_ romantic sitting at this table.

Benjamin laughs and they sit back. Mark has a small emotional moment, blinking and looking away. Benjamin is instantly concerned.

BENJAMIN  
Mark?

MARK  
I'm... fine, just... uhg, gimme a second.

BENJAMIN  
You are not fine. Do you feel-?

MARK  
No, I'm okay. I'm okay.

He turns back to Benjamin and smiles. It is watery, and weak, but genuine.

BENJAMIN  
Do you want to... to talk about it?

Mark laughs.

MARK  
You don't have to sound _quite_ so distasteful, Dr. Cummings.

BENJAMIN  
(disgruntled)  
Sorry, I... be patient with me, Mark, I--

MARK  
I'm teasing.

Benjamin makes a displeased sound. Mark reaches across the table to take his hand.

MARK  
Sorry.

BENJAMIN  
I _am_ trying.

MARK  
I know. And I appreciate it.

But Benjamin is genuinely frustrated and won't be put off by platitudes.

BENJAMIN  
Maybe your mother was right.

MARK  
What? About _what?_

BENJAMIN  
About _me._ If you're not even willing to tell me what--

MARK (OVERLAPPING)  
Whoa, _whoa_. Slow down, there. What do you mean by--

BENJAMIN  
You just _lied_ to me, Mark.

MARK  
I'm choosing not to tell you something that upset me, that's not lying!

BENJAMIN  
Something you're thinking about has made you sad and you won't _share_  
it with me. Partners are supposed to _share--_

MARK  
There's no rule book.

BENJAMIN  
I am _trying_.

MARK  
I know.

BENJAMIN  
But if you won't even tell me what makes you sad, how am I supposed to help fix it? How am I supposed to... to be... _Mark_. I... I want this. I want this _so badly_ but if I can't... if I _can't_...

Mark leans across the table and kisses Benjamin quiet. It is hard and comforting at the same time. When they finally pull apart, Benjamin's eyes are screwed shut. Mark strokes Benjamin's cheek until he opens them.

MARK  
Sorry. I'm sorry.

BENJAMIN  
Please let me help.

MARK  
It's not as easy as that, it's... you can't fix every sad thing in my life, Ben.

BENJAMIN  
That doesn't mean I don't want to try.

Mark takes a moment to chew on that. He sits back and sip his wine, then presses his thumbs against his eyes, taking a deep, brave breath.

MARK  
I was thinking about... us getting married.

BENJAMIN  
(distraught)  
And that made you sad?

MARK  
James won't be there.

Benjamin is quiet, digesting this.

MARK (CON'T)  
If I ever thought about myself getting married, my baby brother, my twin...  
he was my best man. In here.

He taps his temple.

BENJAMIN  
I see.

MARK  
You understand why I didn't want to talk about it?

BENJAMIN  
Yes. I wish you still had, without me badgering, though.

MARK  
I'll do better next time. I'll try.

BENJAMIN  
Thank you.

They are silent for a moment. Benjamin is angry at himself.

MARK  
Now it's your turn to share. What's wrong?

Benjamin struggles for a moment.

BENJAMIN  
This is all my fault.

MARK  
My mum--

BENJAMIN  
It's not just your mother, Mark. If I had been... less sure of myself.  
Less _arrogant_.

MARK  
You don't know that. You _can't_.

BENJAMIN  
How many other people have I put at risk, Mark? How many others--

MARK  
Shhh. Shh. Sweetheart. You can't think like that.

BENJAMIN  
I _remember_ them. _All_ of them.

MARK  
Right. Your perfect recall.

BENJAMIN  
Every face. Every person who looked up at me in hope. Every tear.  
Every request for assurance. Every time I dismissed their concerns as hysterics?  
How many did I fail, while being so sure I had succeeded?

Benjamin is overcome by this thought, and covers his eyes with his hands, choking back desperately on the emotions that threaten to escape.

Mark shifts his chair around and cuddles Benjamin close, soothing.

MARK  
Oh, Benjamin.

Benjamin presses his fist against his heart.

BENJAMIN  
It _hurts._

MARK  
I know.

 

87     EXT. STREET OUTSIDE THE THAI PLACE. NIGHT.     87

Benjamin and Mark are walking hand-in-hand toward Benjamin and James’ building. It's been a rough emotional evening, but they are happier for it.

BENJAMIN  
I... I wanted to say that... if there _is_ a wedding--

MARK  
(groaning)  
Oh God, what have I started.

BENJAMIN  
At least you will know that James approves of me. Dr. McHottieHair, indeed.

MARK  
Hmm, yeah.

BENJAMIN  
In that way, James will be there.

MARK  
That's true.

They reach the outside of the condo building.

BENJAMIN  
Will you come up?

MARK  
Oh God, yes.

 

88     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     88

Benjamin opens his front door. Hightower peeks his head around and meows pitifully, bumping his head against Benjamin's leg.

Mark is understandably surprised.

MARK  
Hightower?

BENJAMIN  
Ah, yes, I meant to tell you. James, ah... asked me to take him.

MARK  
I... _you?_

BENJAMIN  
Is there some reason why he wouldn't ask me to pet-sit?

MARK  
Pet-sit, Ben... I think James is _giving_ you his cat.

BENJAMIN  
Why would he...?

MARK  
I don't know. I mean, if I'd thought about it, and I'll admit that I haven't,  
I assumed James would ask _me._

Mark looks over at James' door.

BENJAMIN  
Are you upset?

Mark snaps his attention back around.

MARK  
What? No. No, I'm just... confused. Listen I... Go inside. I'll be right back.

BENJAMIN  
Mark?

MARK  
I just... I just want to check up on James.

BENJAMIN  
Your mother said he was staying at their house.

MARK  
(snorts)  
Yeah, right. You clearly don't know James very well, then. I'll be right back, okay?

BENJAMIN  
Okay.

They kiss, and Mark jangles his keys out of his pocket.

 

89     INT. JAMES' CONDO. NIGHT.     89

Mark opens the front door and enters.

MARK  
James? Are you home?

The condo is _spotless_. It is eerie.

Mark looks around, confused. There's an envelope with Mark's name written in a shaky hand propped up prominently on the dish where Mark and James usually leave their keys. Underneath, underlined, it says: **"I'm sorry".**

MARK  
Oh my God. _James!_

 

90     INT. JAMES’ CONDO - JAMES' BEDROOM. NIGHT.     90

Mark runs into James' bedroom.

James is sprawled across the bed. Well, what's left of him is. There is a spray of blood across the wall. His gun is still in his hand.

Mark walks forward calmly. He is the careful, caring big brother for one last time.

Mark takes the gun from James’s hand. He steps back and unloads the magazine with quick, sure movements. He drops the gun and magazine on the floor. 

Then he reaches out to... comfort James.

Only, James is beyond comfort.

When the truth hits Mark, he finally, finally breaks down.

Mark _screams._


	3. ACT THREE

91     EXT. MOUNT PLEASANT CEMETARY. DAY.     91

The violin, piano and guitar return, plaintive and mournful.

The screen stays dark for an uncomfortably long time, slowly, slowly coming up on:

The Farthing family gathers around an open grave, watching James' coffin is being lowered into the ground. Around them, Toronto's Finest salute James one last time.

The day should be gray and rainy, but it's not. It's high summer. Everyone sweats in their best clothes.

It's hateful.

 

92     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     92

Benjamin is doing paperwork. He signs a document with a flourish, closes the folder, files it, and moves on to the next.

It's labeled JAMES ROGER FARTHING. His hand starts to shake as he tries to lift the cover. He can't.

He turns away, picks up his phone, and moves to the window. He scrolls through his text messages, re-reading:

TEXT: **ME: I haven't heard from you in a few days. I wanted to check in. I won't ask if you're okay. But have you eaten? Have you slept?**

TEXT: **MARK: I'm staying with Mum and Dad. The neighbors have given us enough casseroles to last an apocalypse. Azita has barred me from the office.**

TEXT: **ME: That's not an answer. Are you eating? Are you sleeping?**

TEXT: **MARK: There's no time. Paper work and things to settle with insurance, and his work, and the condo.**

TEXT: **ME: I can help with the condo. I can pack. Or something.**

TEXT: **MARK: I'm fine.**

Mark hasn't replied. Benjamin dithers, and then after checking his watch, calls Mark.

The call rings through, and nobody picks up. Benjamin leaves a voice mail:

BENJAMIN  
Mark? It's... it's me. Obviously. I just... have you slept? Have you eaten? I worry.  
I know... I know the funeral was today. I assume you're at your parent's now.  
I just... call me. If you want. I'm here for you. 

Benjamin hangs up. He sighs and scrubs his face, and covers his mouth to keep from crying. Now that he's let himself feel something for Mark, he doesn't know how to handle the emotions.

There are no hydrangeas in the vase.

 

93      INT. A CORNER STORE. NIGHT.     93

Benjamin is buying groceries. He stops in the pet aisle and buys cat food and a small catnip mouse.

 

94     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. NIGHT.     94

Benjamin unlocks the door, sets down his bags, and makes a kissing noise. Hightower skitters around the corner and rubs against his legs.

BENJAMIN  
(melancholy)  
Hello, menace.

The hydrangeas that Mark bought are withered, sitting in a mason jar on the hallway credenza.

 

95     INT. THE FARTHING FAMILY HOME - KITCHEN. NIGHT.     95

The wake is winding down.

Friendly, open Mark is felling bitter and dark. He has secreted himself in the corner. He pulls out his phone to look at the very same text-conversation that Ben had contemplated earlier. He writes:

TEXT: **ME: I MISS YOU.**

Then he deletes it, shoves his phone in his pocket, and goes to the counter to pour himself a whiskey.

 

96     INT. MARK’S TOWNHOUSE - OFFICE. NIGHT.     96

Mark stumbles into the house, alone, and waves off the departing cabbie. He's a wreck.

He stumbles into his home office, where there is a swanky credenza with showy crystal. He picks up the no-doubt expensive whiskey, flops off the stopper, and quaffs. There is a mirror above the bar set up.

He looks into it. James looks back.

His face crumples and he sinks onto the carpet, distraught.

 

97     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     97

Azita stands in Mark's office, idly tidying his desk, the phone squeezed between her ear and shoulder. It's ringing.

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
Hello, Dr. Cummings.

AZITA  
Good afternoon, Dr. Cummings. My name is Azita. I'm --

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
Mark's PA, yes.

AZITA  
I'm calling because... is Mark with you?

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
I assume this means he's not picking up at home?

AZITA  
He's not there, then. Okay. I'm getting in a cab.

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
I'll do it.

AZITA  
Dr. Cummings...

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
It's fine. I'll do it.

AZITA  
Thank you.

Benjamin hangs up. Azita considers the phone, face creased with worry.

 

98     INT. MARK'S TOWNHOUSE - OFFICE. NIGHT.     98

Benjamin is knocking loudly on the front door, calling to Mark through the wood. From the office, it's just muffled thumping and shouting.

Mark is passed out on the floor, a pool of vomit under his cheek.

The thumping stops. There's a moment of quiet, and then the sound of a body tramping through a bush. The light of a cell phone shines through the window.

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
Yes, Azita, I'm around the side now. Uh-huh. His office is on the ground floor, you said.  
Hold on...

Benjamin appears at the window. He looks around the office, using his phone as a flashlight.

BENJAMIN (CON'T) (O.S.)  
I don't see-- ah, fuck. No, no. I see him. He's breathing. I think he's just drunk... Yes, that is my medical opinion. Is there an alarm system? ...Because I'm going to break the window. Okay. Thank you. Goodnight.

Benjamin hangs up, puts his phone in his pocket, and searches the garden. He ducks out of frame. He and returns holding a whimsical garden gnome dressed like a lawyer, white wig and all.

He smashes the window pane near the latch.

Mark stirs and rolls onto his back, groaning.

Benjamin gropes for the latch, finds it, wraps his hand with his scarf to protect it from broken glass, then raises the sash and wriggles into the room.

Mark groans louder and sits up.

MARK  
Ben'jmn?

BENJAMIN  
Oh, my poor Mark. You silly, silly man.

 

99     INT. MARK'S TOWNHOUSE - BATHROOM. NIGHT.     99

Benjamin strips Mark efficiently and manhandles him into the shower. We see a lot of skin but it's not sexy; it's vulnerable.

 

100     INT. MARK'S TOWNHOUSE - KITCHEN. NIGHT.     100

Mark's hair is wet, and he is in his pajamas and housecoat. He is seated at the breakfast bar and holding his head.

Benjamin stands between the breakfast bar and the sink, his shirtsleeves rolled up and damp.

Benjamin sets a glass of water and two aspirin down by his elbow. Mark groans.

BENJAMIN  
No nonsense. Finish it all.

Mark groans again.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
I know a seven year old with leukemia who is more cooperative than you.  
Don't think I'm not above pinching your nose and pouring it down your throat.

Mark cuts a dirty glare at Benjamin but scoops up the pills and swallows them, then drains the glass. Benjamin takes it and immediately refills it, then hands it back.

MARK  
Coffee?

BENJAMIN  
Water first.

Mark pouts but drinks.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
I can't believe your fucking parents let you go home like this.

MARK  
Snuck out.

BENJAMIN  
You snuck out of your brother's wake.

MARK  
Couldn't stand being... being alone.

BENJAMIN  
There were dozens of people--

MARK  
No. _Alone._

He looks pointedly at his reflection in the night-darkened window. Benjamin gets it. Mark is no longer a twin.

Mark slumps and buries his head in his arms. Not knowing how to do this, Benjamin dithers for a moment, the mask fracturing, and then he comes around to Mark's side of the island and wraps Mark in his arms like a shield.

BENJAMIN  
Oh, my darling. I'm so sorry. I'm _so_ sorry.

MARK  
I couldn't stay there. Mum kept banging on about how she...  
blamed... and I can't listen to... I lo-love you...

Mark sniffles and sobs a little, and Benjamin kisses the top of his head. It's not how he wanted to hear Mark say it the first time, but he'll take it.

MARK (CON'T)  
(sobbing)  
How co-could she s-say that...?

BENJAMIN  
I told you, Mark. Every fairy-tale needs an old-fashioned villain.  
It makes people feel better. I don't mind.

MARK  
Of course you do. You always have.

BENJAMIN  
Yes. Of course.

Benjamin curls in tighter around Mark. Mark pushes him back, and Benjamin is hurt and startled for a moment, until Mark stands and wraps his arms around Benjamin's neck and squeezes them so close together there's barely enough room for breath.

MARK  
Don't leave.

BENJAMIN  
No. Never.

MARK  
Promise.

BENJAMIN  
Yes.

Mark pulls back and kisses Benjamin hard. It's too hard. Benjamin reaches up, tries to gentle the kiss, and Mark bites him.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Ouch!

Mark dives back in for more, but Benjamin holds him away, licking blood off his lip.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
No. Not as punishment.

MARK  
What? No, I don't--

Mark sees the blood. He winces.

BENJAMIN  
Mark.

MARK  
Sorry.

BENJAMIN  
_Mark_.

Mark leans up and kisses him soft, apologetic, licking the blood away.

MARK  
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

BENJAMIN  
It's okay. I'm clean.

MARK  
Me too.

Mark kisses down Benjamin's chin, across his jaw, over his collarbones, murmuring endearments and apologies and pleas never to leave. Benjamin lets his head fall back and his hands curl in Mark's bathrobe and just _holds on._

Mark backs Benjamin up to the living room sofa, pushes him down and crawls on top. Sex is semi-clothed, rough and desperate, and clinging, like they're afraid to let their mouths part in case one of them is ripped away.

This isn't rough angry sex. This is desperation. This is _starvation._

Buttons go flying. Mark gets his own trousers just far enough down for Benjamin's hands to curl around and dig between his cheeks.

Mark rides Benjamin and it is jerky, swift, his orgasm over too soon and hitting too strong. Mark gasps and arches, digging his ass into Benjamin's pelvis, and the gasp becomes a sigh, and then a choke, and then a sob.

Mark curls down against Benjamin's chest. Ben pulls the blanket from off the back of the sofa, wraps them both up warm, rocking and cradling his lover.

MARK  
I can't... I can't do it...

BENJAMIN  
Shhh. Shhhh. I'm here.

MARK  
James said he was tired. He was so tired. I'm so tired, Ben. I can't do it.

BENJAMIN  
You can. You can. It will pass.

Mark sits up abruptly, aghast.

MARK  
I don't want it to pass! I don't want to stop missing him!

BENJAMIN  
I know. You never will, I promise. But you'll see. It will get...

MARK  
(sneering)  
Better?

BENJAMIN  
Duller. Number.

MARK  
What am I, if I'm not a big brother? Who am I, if I'm not a twin?

BENJAMIN  
Mark Farthing. Lawyer. Care-er. Defender of the weak, voice to the voiceless. Mine.

MARK  
I'm no one. I'm _useless._

BENJAMIN  
That's not true.

MARK  
I'm nothing.

BENJAMIN  
Baby Raquel doesn't think so. And I'm certain the bitch aunt must  
be thinking of you as well, though not highly.

Another sob escapes Mark, but it also half-laugh. He is surprised and touched by Benjamin's kindness.

BENJAMIN  
_I_ don't think so.

Mark cuddles back into Benjamin, weeping, and Benjamin holds him tight.

 

101     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     101

It is the end of the day. Benjamin is putting away his files, and donning his coat as he talks to Mark on the phone.

BENJAMIN  
I have to swing by mine to feed the cat, and then I'll be over.

MARK (O.S.)  
The cat. I forgot about Hightower.

There is silence for a moment. Mark realizes something:

MARK (CON'T)(O.S.)  
Shit. James knew I'd forget about the cat.

BENJAMIN  
It's fine. Hightower is fine. Though, perhaps annoyed that I don't cuddle  
him as much as you do.

MARK  
I should... I should take him back. Take him off your hands.

BENJAMIN  
(stiffly)  
If you want to.

MARK (O.S.)  
Do you want me to?

BENJAMIN  
I'd rather not.

MARK (O.S.)  
(gently)  
Is it a comfort thing? This is... what you want after you spend a day ruining people's lives?

BENJAMIN  
You once said that you understood what that was like. Do you?

MARK (O.S.)  
You remember that?

BENJAMIN  
I remember everything. You said that I was a prick who thought I had a  
monopoly on how hard life was because I had a hospital and a lab coat?  
You asked if I believed that I needed fancy medical degree to ruin people's lives,  
because you do it every day in a courtroom.

MARK (O.S.)  
Jesus. That's eerie.

BENJAMIN  
You called me a selfish bastard.

MARK (O.S.)  
Ben, I--

BENJAMIN  
No. Don't apologize. I deserved it. That's why I want to ... keep the cat.

MARK (O.S.)  
Okay. Okay.

BENJAMIN  
I'll pick up Thai on my way past. I remember your order. From that... that first night.

MARK (O.S.)  
(startled)  
I thought you weren't paying attention to me then.

BENJAMIN  
Of course I was. I told you. You're gorgeous. I envied James for your compassion.  
And you were easy to love.

A moment of silence from the other end of the line.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Mark?

MARK (O.S.)  
How about I call the Thai place ahead so you don't have to wait for the order?

BENJAMIN  
(wickedly)  
Perfect.

 

102     INT. MARK'S TOWNHOUSE. NIGHT.     102

Benjamin, now with a key, enters the house. He sets the Thai food bags down in the kitchen.

BENJAMIN  
Mark?

MARK (O.S.)  
In my office!

Benjamin sheds his outerwear, leaves it on the sofa, and goes into the office.

 

103     INT. MARK'S TOWNHOUSE - OFFICE. NIGHT.     103

Mark is vacuuming up broken glass. There is cardboard over the hole in the window, but now the mirror above the bar is shattered as well.

Benjamin frowns at it. Then he crosses the room and grabs Mark's hand. There is blood and glass on his knuckles.

Benjamin shuts off the vacuum and pulls Mark back into the kitchen.

 

104     INT. MARK'S TOWNHOUSE - KITCHEN. NIGHT.     104

Benjamin pushes Mark into the stool at the breakfast bar, turns on the tap, and pushes Mark's hands under the flow. Benjamin rummages under the sink for the first aid kit.

BENJAMIN  
Where is the... do you have a...?

MARK  
Above the fridge.

Benjamin pulls the first aid kit out of the cupboard above the fridge. He shuts off the tap, grabs the tea towel off the stove, and pats Mark's hands dry. He then starts tweezing glass out of Mark's skin.

MARK  
Smells good.

He leans towards the bag of food.

BENJAMIN  
And you can have some once I've finished here.

MARK  
Ben...

Benjamin points the tweezers at Mark's face.

BENJAMIN  
No whining. You're the one who wanted me to hurry up and  
now you're the one delaying dinner.

MARK  
Ben.

BENJAMIN  
Couldn't you have just _covered_ the mirror instead?

MARK  
That's a little Victorian.

BENJAMIN  
So is punching glass because your reflection reminds you of your brother.

Mark pulls away. Benjamin grabs his wrist and pulls him back.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Oh no. No. You wouldn't let me stay an ass and I won't let you shut off on me.

Mark grumbles and snags the bag with his free hand, pulling it close. He peers inside. Just as he's about to reach in, the front door opens. Oliver steps inside, followed closely by Diane.

Everyone freezes where they are, eyeing each other up.

DIANE  
I see. So has he taken your phone away, or just convinced you to stop answering?

MARK  
What?

OLIVER  
(chiding)  
Diane.

DIANE  
You were _gone,_ Mark. You just _vanished._ And you weren't answering your phone.

BENJAMIN  
(snide)  
Ah, and I notice it took you two you a full forty-eight hours to give a fuck.

Diane is appalled by Benjamin's outburst. He's a little startled himself, but he's angry enough to that it doesn't matter. Mark stands, suddenly in the middle of something that he doesn't quite understand.

DIANE  
You _shut up!_

BENJAMIN  
Or _what?_ You have literally nothing to threaten me with!

DIANE  
James--

BENJAMIN  
Is _dead!_

Shocked silence all around. Benjamin knows he shouldn't have said it, but he's gone too far to back down now.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
(furious)  
So perhaps you should stop mourning the son you've lost and pay attention to the one you still have!

MARK  
(horrified)  
Ben!

DIANE  
Get out! Get out you selfish, _cruel--_

BENJAMIN  
Cruel? Me? I'm the one who peeled your drunk son out of a pool of his own puke! I'm the one who's trying to get him to eat! I'm the one who's holding him when he sobs and rocking him to sleep! Where the _hell_ have  _you_ been _?_

Diane raises her hand to slap Benjamin. Mark grabs her wrist, jaw clenched. Diane looks at him, startled, betrayed, then back at Benjamin, bitter.

Benjamin isn't triumphant, though. He's staring at Mark, pity in his face. Mark shakes his head once.

MARK  
You better go.

BENJAMIN  
I should sa--

Mark turns his head to face Benjamin.

MARK  
I meant you.

Benjamin is startled. Then hurt.

BENJAMIN  
Yes. Of course.

He fetches his coat, stiffly, and storms out the front door.

 

105     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. NIGHT.     105

Benjamin sits on the sofa eating cold cereal and petting Hightower.

 

106     INT. PRINCESS MARGARET CANCER CENTRE - BENJAMIN'S OFFICE. DAY.     106

Benjamin is in his office. He is swamped, swapping out files before he rushes off to see another patient. He is in scrubs, hair under a net, preparing to head into surgery. There is a knock at the door.

BENJAMIN  
(snaps)  
Yes? What? Come in!

MAN IN A SUIT  
Dr. Benjamin Cummings?

BENJAMIN  
Yes! What? I'm busy!

The man in the suit hands him a manila envelope.

MAN IN A SUIT  
You've been served, Dr. Cummings. Have a nice day.

Benjamin stares at the envelope in his hands, dumbfounded.

BENJAMIN  
_What?_

 

107     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     107

Mark storms into his office, followed by Azita and his PARTNER - a puffing, balding man in his sixties who hasn't worn a properly fitted suit since the first Trudeau era - and behind them, both of his parents.

MARK  
You did _what?_

PARTNER  
Your mother asked me to lead the case, as it would be a conflict of interest for you,  
so of course I said I wo--

MARK  
A _malpractice_ suit? On what _grounds?_

DIANE  
(coldly)  
Incompetence. Negligence.

MARK  
You can't charge Ben for that! He's the top of his field!

DIANE  
He is arrogant, and rude, and his lack of empathy and negligence killed your brother!

MARK  
James ate his own service pistol!

Diane's rage breaks through.

DIANE  
And that is your little fling's _fault!_

MARK  
My little... _Jesus, Mum._

Mark is literally reeling, and he slumps back against his desk.

PARTNER  
Mark. Mark. I'm going to need your help with--

MARK  
(flinty)  
No. Absolutely not. Drop the case.

PARTNER  
What?

DIANE  
No.

MARK  
Drop the case, mum.

DIANE  
_No._

They are at an impasse.

PARTNER  
Mark, should I not have...?

MARK  
No.

DIANE  
I am paying twice your usual fee. Think of all the pro bono work you could do with that.

MARK  
Do you think I care about the fucking _money_ , Mum?

DIANE  
I think you don't care about your brother! Or the other people that have suffered like him!

MARK  
(To Partner)  
Drop the case.

PARTNER  
We stand a good chance of winning. I've already spoken to--

Mark puts up his hand, silencing his partner.

MARK  
I can't be listening to this. I can't be a part of this.

PARTNER  
Mark?

MARK  
_She's_ your client. Not me. Not our whole family. You leave me out of this.

Mark pushes away from the desk and storms out of his office.

 

108     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. Day.     108

Benjamin is seated on the sofa, stunned. He is still in his scrubs, he hasn't changed. Mark is kneeling between Benjamin's knees, cupping Benjamin's face in his hands.

MARK  
I didn't know she'd do it.

BENJAMIN  
_Malpractice_?

MARK  
Ben...

BENJAMIN  
_Negligence._

MARK  
Ben, please.

Mark makes a grab for Benjamin's hand, but Benjamin recoils, cradling his hands against his chest, protective.

MARK (CON'T)  
I... I _wouldn't..._

Benjamin stands, staggering away from Mark, turning his back, and over to the window. Hightower jumps up on the sill and Benjamin nearly pets the cat, then hesitates. He puts his hands behind his back instead.

MARK (CON'T)  
Listen, it will take them a few weeks to arrange for the experts to--

BENJAMIN  
She already has. The hearing date is set. I was reaching out to you,  
and you were ignoring me, and she was _plotting._

MARK  
Benjamin, please. I didn't have anything to do with it. You can't think that.

BENJAMIN  
But you won't do anything to _stop_ it, either.

MARK  
I can't intervene in this! The judge would... the conflict of interest alone would...

BENJAMIN  
Shut up!

Mark is flabbergasted.

BENJAMIN  
I am _nothing_ if I am not a doctor, Mark. I have wanted literally _nothing_ else, my whole life.

MARK  
(small; lost)  
What about me?

BENJAMIN  
Get out.

Mark, hurt beyond words, stands.

BENJAMIN  
And take this fleabag with you.

He shoves Hightower off the sill. The cat yowls at him. Benjamin stalks out of the room, and off screen, his bedroom door slams.

 

109     INT. MARK’S OFFICE – A BOARDROOM. DAY.      109

Day one of the case. The boardroom room is a little shabby, and is populated with Oliver, Diane, Mark's Partner, Benjamin, Benjamin's REPRESENTATIVE, a COURT TRANSCRIPTIONIST, and a JUDGE. It is tight and hot in the room, and nobody is happy.

JUDGE  
If there's no further administrative concerns, then we'll begin.

He opens a file.

JUDGE (CON'T)  
We are here to review evidence and discuss settlement or dismissal  
for the malpractice suit leveraged against Dr. Benjamin Cummings  
of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre by the defendants Oliver  
and Diane Farthing, in regards to the negligent treatment of their son  
James Roger Farthing, which resulted in his death.

Benjamin opens his mouth to protest, but his representative shakes his head, swift and tight, and Benjamin clenches his jaw and says nothing. The judge continues.

 

110     INT. MARK'S TOWNHOUSE - KITCHEN. Day.     110

Mark is not at work. He is sitting at his breakfast bar, staring at his phone and ignoring his cup of coffee. The phone pings. He grabs it up and reads a text:

TEXT: **ARZITA: It's started. It doesn't look good.**

Mark chucks the phone at the wall and it bounces onto the floor.

 

111     INT. MARK’S OFFICE - A BOARDROOM. DAY.     111

It's clear that the Farthing family money and influence is going a long way, especially since Ben has no friends at the hospital. A medical expert, a FELLOW DOCTOR from Princess Margaret's, is sitting in the hot seat. Benjamin is slumped, staring out the window, defeated already.

FELLOW DOCTOR  
He's always been a cold, arrogant bastard.

REPRESENTATIVE  
Objection! We asked for a medical opinion, not a character assassination.

JUDGE  
Sustained. Doctor, answer the question.

FELLOW DOCTOR  
(smug)  
Was the appropriate medical standard of care applied under  
the circumstances? Yes. But only _barely._ Dr. Cummings can't get  
out of a patient's room fast enough. I have no doubt that his  
desire to avoid contact with the patient's family affects his attention to detail.

PARTNER  
You're saying that Dr. Cummings routinely breeches the medical standard of care?

FELLOW DOCTOR  
In my medical opinion? Yes.

DISSOLVE TO:

The sun is setting outside the office windows.

Ben is slumped, barely listening as the judge pronounces him stripped of his medical license. The sound of the judge talking is muted, muffled, in slowmo and agonizing.

The guitar and violin weep.

JUDGE  
\--stripped of his licence. Dr. Cummings may not practice  
medicine within the territories and dominions of Canada--

Benjamin looks at his phone. There is a single text.

TEXT: **MARK: It will be fine. We'll figure it out.**

Benjamin deletes the text.

JUDGE  
\--the amount of two point seven million awarded to the defendants--

Benjamin stands and walks out of the room, as if through molasses, not waiting for the rest of the judge's pronouncement.

 

112     EXT. PARKING LOT OUTSIDE OF MARK’S OFFICE. DAY.     112

Benjamin shuffles out into the brutal sunshine. He strips away his tie and lets it flutter away on the wind. He tips his head back, swallowing the light.

Mark, who has been waiting on a bench nearby, pushes to his feet and comes to stand beside Benjamin.

MARK  
I'm sorry.

BENJAMIN  
It's over. It sort of feels good. Now that it's over.

MARK  
Ben...

Benjamin raises his hand to silence Mark.

Benjamin walks away. Mark stands frozen, helpless, watching him.

Slowly, the rest of the team files out the door. Diane and Oliver spot Mark and approach him.

DIANE  
(smarmy)  
Mark! What a pleasant--

MARK  
Shut up!

OLIVER  
Mark!

MARK  
Not another fucking word. From _either_ of you.  
You... you _vultures_. James would be _ashamed of you_.

DIANE  
Young man!

MARK  
Don't! I am _ashamed_ of you! I hope you're happy with  
your blood money! You've stripped a man of everything he was!

DIANE  
Why do you _care_? He doesn't want to see you anymore!  
Don't pretend that he matters to you! Look, he just walked away!

MARK  
You think that I only care about other people when it serves my interest?

DIANE  
I... no, of course not... but what else could you see in that sociopathic prick?

MARK  
How about a man who desperately, _desperately_ wanted to be loved?  
How about a man who wanted to do good? A man whose heart was so open,  
and so filled with other people's pain that he had to pretend to be  
a sociopath just to fool _himself_ into going back into work every day?

DIANE  
_He killed your brother!_

MARK  
_Breast Cancer_ killed my brother! The only thing Ben did wrong  
was be sure of himself! People make mistakes, mother! It happens! That's _life!_

DIANE  
I can't _believe_ you're defending him!

MARK  
Of course I am! You've just done to Ben what the cancer did to James!  
You took away his livelihood, his identity, his everything.  
I wouldn't be surprised if Ben--- oh. Lord. _Benjamin._

Mark runs across the parking lot in the direction that Benjamin took.

 

113     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. NIGHT.     113

The door is unlocked, and Mark crashes through it.

Benjamin is sitting on the living room floor, a half-drunk bottle of whiskey by his knee and a tiny parade of pill bottles around his feet.

Benjamin, as it turns out, is a bit of a jolly drunk.

BENJAMIN  
Ah. Mark! Do you know what one of the perks of being a doctor is? _Pills._

MARK  
Benjamin... please... please don't...

BENJAMIN  
Why not? It all seemed to work out for James, in the end.

MARK  
Don't... don't _say_ that.

BENJAMIN  
Why? Is it too honest?

MARK  
It's... this... it's not a solution, Ben.

BENJAMIN  
(darkly)  
Isn't it? What makes you so sure?

MARK  
Wasn't it you, just a few days ago, telling me that it will all pass? It will get better?  
Go on, you're the one with the impressive memory. You tell me.

BENJAMIN  
Fuck you.

MARK  
Please.

BENJAMIN  
You can come closer. It's okay. It's not a loaded gun. I can't shoot you with pills.

MARK  
This is... this is selfish and horrible.

BENJAMIN  
Only from where you're standing.

Benjamin laughs as if it's the funniest joke he's ever told. But his laughter grating, his face flushed and desperate.

Mark starts stuffing the pill bottles into his pockets. 

Benjamin is a bit too drunk to be coordinated enough to stop him, though he still tries.

When Mark has all of them he runs to the washroom.

 

114     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO - BATHROOM. NIGHT.     114

Mark starts dumping the pills into the toilet, flushing frequently.

BENJAMIN (O.S.)  
Hey!

Mark roots through Benjamin's medicine cabinet, and yanks out any pills he finds there, too. Benjamin stumbles into the bathroom, tugging on Mark's hand.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Stop it.

MARK  
No!

BENJAMIN  
This isn't fair!

MARK  
Isn't fair? Isn't _fair? You unbelievable prick!  
You selfish goddamn asshole!_

BENJAMIN  
Ah. And there they are. The invectives.

MARK  
How could you... how could you do this to m-me? _Again?_

BENJAMIN  
To you? What the fuck does this have to do with _you_?

Benjamin swerves out of the doorway and staggers back to the living room.

 

115     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. DAY.     115

Benjamin is searching for his whiskey bottle. He finds it and swoops in on it, swinging it up and finishing it off in one go. Mark follows and yanks it out of his hands.

BENJAMIN  
Oh. Is Mark the Caregiver back again, then?

MARK  
Stop this!

Benjamin wavers in the living room, listless.

BENJAMIN  
I'm going to have to sell it. Everything. I don't... even with the malpractice insurance, I'll 

have nothing to live on after. I can't work. I don't have that kind of money.

MARK  
Benjamin...

BENJAMIN  
How could you let them do it?

MARK  
I didn't... Ben. Please just... just sit down, okay? I'll get you some water and we can--

BENJAMIN  
(suddenly sober; enraged)  
_Why?_

He snarls it. Mark, startled, takes a step back and stumbles over the coffee table.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Why _should_ I? If I'm not a doctor, then what am I, Mark?  
What good am I to the world? What good are these hands?

MARK  
They were good enough to hold me! They were good  
enough to love me! Or is that not enough?

BENJAMIN  
It was a mistake. Letting you in. Letting you... _ruin me_.

MARK  
(furious now)  
You... what,  _liked_ being just a machine?

BENJAMIN  
Yes! And I was good at it! I was fine when I was _that!_ But you... you, Mark Farthing,  
you got under my skin and you ruined _everything!_

Mark, hurt, backs away.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Get out! Get out of my life!

Instead, Mark grabs him from behind, holding on for dear life. Mark whispers into the nape of his neck, mourning already.

MARK  
We're no good for each other, are we?

Mark wrestles Benjamin around to face him. Benjamin grabs a fistful of Mark's hair. Mark winces but doesn't resist.

BENJAMIN  
I can't take care of you.

MARK  
I never asked you to.

BENJAMIN  
I wanted to. I wanted... so badly. Couldn't save James... maybe just..  
because you deserve someone to love you the way that you... you... Mark...

MARK  
I'm here, Ben. I'm here.

BENJAMIN  
(weeping)  
I can't...

MARK  
I know.

BENJAMIN  
I wish...

MARK  
I wish I could take care of you the way to you deserve, too.

BENJAMIN  
Love you.

MARK  
It's not enough.

BENJAMIN  
Say it anyway. Please.

MARK  
I love you, too.

They kiss. Both men are raw, desperate, groping towards some semblance of closure in each other's mouths. They kiss, slow and sad. Mark starts backing Benjamin toward the bedroom. Benjamin doesn't resist. They kiss like a goodbye letter.

 

116     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO - BEDROOM. NIGHT.     116

Mark lets Benjamin press him down onto the bed and strip him bare. Their mouths barely separate, even to pull Mark's tie over heads and undo buttons.

Benjamin’s professional life is in shambles. Mark is estranged from his family. All they had left is each other, and even that is disintegrating. They know it.

It won’t be enough, they can’t be enough, and much as they love each other, it isn’t their time. This is their last hurrah.

It is at first angry, then rough, then apologetic, then sorrowful, then comforting, then passionate in rapid succession.

It is their whole relationship in a nutshell and it is a bridge from before to after.

When Benjamin drops off to sleep, Mark kisses his temple, and then slips out for the last time. He takes the whiskey bottle with him when he goes.

 

117     EXT. MOUNT PLEASANT CEMETERY. DAY.     117

Mark is sitting on the ground, leaning back against James' headstone. He pours out a measure of whiskey for James, then takes a gulp himself.

MARK  
It's over with me and Dr. McHottieHair. We couldn't...  
I know you wanted someone to take care of me, James,  
but we just couldn't survive... you. We weren't strong enough.  
I wasn't good enough. I'm sorry. I tried.

 

118     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO - BEDROOM. DAY.     118

Benjamin wakes slowly. He reaches out for Mark, and finds only a crumpled pillow. He pulls it to his face and inhales. He indulges for a moment. When he sets the pillow aside, his eyes are wet.

He fishes around for his trousers, finds them, and pulls out his phone. He searches his contacts, then finds who he's looking for. He calls.

BENJAMIN  
Hello. Good morning. Yes. Is Misha there? Thank you. Good morning, Misha.  
Yes. Thank you - yes. Well, funny you should ask. I have decided to sell the condo.  
I know, it hasn't even been five years. Well. It's time for a change.

He flops back onto his bed, exhausted.

119     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     119

Mark is at work, and he is furious to be there. His phone is ringing and he is not picking up. Azita sticks her head in the office.

AZITA  
They're going to keep calling until you answer.

Mark looks down at his office the phone. The call display says FARTHING.

MARK  
Fuck her.

He hits the ignore button. Azita withdraws.

 

120     EXT. JACK LAYTON PARK. DAY.     120

Benjamin tries to go for a run. He passes the tree where he and Mark snogged. He freezes, startled. Then he scowls. He just turns around and starts walking home.

 

121     INT. BENJAMIN'S CONDO. NIGHT.     121

Benjamin's still in his running gear. He is sitting in front of his computer, researching Doctors Without Borders.

 

122     INT. CORPORATE OFFICE. DAY. 122

Ben is doing an interview. The INTERVIEWER is the deeply tanned, scruffy, crunchy-granola type.

INTERVIEWER  
The malpractice suit doesn't bother us too much, Dr. Cummings.  
We reviewed the files and have determined that the opinion of a bereaved  
family has to be taken into account. What we're more concerned with is the  
intense specialization you've had the last ten years.

BENJAMIN  
Say what you really mean, please.

INTERVIEWER  
Are you going to be light enough on your toes for this?

BENJAMIN  
I am a highly skilled surgeon. I chase dragons for a living.  
I have always been very creative. I will cope. More than that, I will _thrive_.

The interviewer is impressed.

INTERVIEWER  
One last question, Dr. Cummings. Why Doctors Without Borders?  
Why leave your safe city? Why leave all this...

He gestures to the office around them, referring to the luxury. Benjamin takes a moment to answer, and when he does, his words are low, slow, and breathtakingly honest.

BENJAMIN  
I met a man who taught me how important it is to _care_.  
I can no longer work here, but I am still a Doctor.  
I can put his lessons to use elsewhere. I can show the world that I've learned.  
I can show _him._

The interviewer nods, stands, and offers Benjamin his hand to shake.

 

123     EXT. MOUNT PLEASANT CEMETERY. NIGHT.     123

Benjamin visits James' grave. The whiskey bottle is where Mark left it, and empty.

Benjamin bows his head and folds his hands.

BENJAMIN  
I'm sorry. I failed you. It won't happen again. I promise.

He leaves.

 

124     INT. A PLANE – FIRST CLASS. DAY.     124

Benjamin, looking slightly sick to his stomach, fastens his seat belt.

 

125     INT. MARK'S OFFICE. DAY.     125

Mark reviews the paperwork one last time, and then signs the papers that confirm that James' condo has officially been sold.

Azita knocks on the door and sticks her head into the office.

AZITA  
If you're finished, I can arrange a courier to deliver the keys.

MARK  
No, I'd... I'd like to do this in person.

AZITA  
Mark, you... you should know that the cheque came in today.

MARK  
Hm? Which cheque?

AZITA  
Your parent's settlement.

Mark's face shutters. He stands, collects the papers, and a set of keys that are laying on the blotter, and scoops up his coat.

MARK  
I'll be an hour, or so. Take a long lunch, if you like, Azita.

AZITA  
Sure thing, boss.

She steps out of the door way and lets him pass, then closes it after him.

 

126     INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE JAMES' CONDO. DAY.     126

Mark exits the elevator and meets a REALTOR at James' door. They exchange paperwork and keys, and then shake hands. The Realtor leaves.

Mark hesitates, then reaches out and brushes his hand across the door handle.

As he turns away, he sees Benjamin's front door close. He is halfway across the hall before he remembers that Benjamin doesn't live there anymore.

There is now a doorplate that says SUMMERS under the peephole.

Mark shoves his hands in his pockets and turns away, sullen.

 

127     EXT. A VILLIAGE IN AFRICA. SUNSET.     127

Benjamin, sunburned and wearing a ridiculous floppy hat, sits on a rise overlooking the village, and pens a dusty, beat up journal for Mark.

BENJAMIN (V.O.)  
Day sixty-four. Mark, you'd be very proud of me.  
Today I cut the head off the chicken myself. For all that I am  
an excellent surgeon (and I am, don't laugh, I can hear you all the  
way from here), I have always been squeamish when it comes to butchering  
my own supper. Well, no more! Abidemi is patient with my horrific  
Yoruba lessons, and continues to show me the ways he uses the teas  
I described a few days ago for pain management...

128     MONTAGE. LIFE GOES ON.     128

We cut back and forth between their lives.

BENJAMIN - is doing some good in Africa. We see him in the surgery hut, hands out for a suture needle, holding a leg that is now a bloody stump as a woman screams; we see him sweating in the harsh sun, lifting bricks and building schools; we see him eating in a group; we see him taking his turn hauling water from a well; and more important than all of that, being humble, as the local doctor shows him medicines, etc. He grows steadily more tan, and he has stopped shaving.

MARK - in the meantime, is a pale shadow of his jovial self. He is doing the daily grind to work and home again; we see him sitting listlessly on the streetcar; he comes into work and only nods at Azita in greeting; we see him pushing the food around on his plate at home, alone; we see him sitting on his sofa and setting Hightower back on the ground, not in the mood for a cuddle; we see him ignoring calls from his mother; and we see Azita, watching him, worried.

129     INT. A COFFEE SHOP. DAY.     129

Mark is seated in a coffee shop, dressed casually but reviewing work notes all the same. He looks up, catches sight of his own reflection in the window, and pauses.

MARK  
(to himself)  
Hello, James.

The man at the table beside the window - ROLAND, early 30s, skinny, attractive and dapper, but shy - startles and looks around, then turns to Mark.

ROLAND  
Um. Sorry. Were you talking to me?

MARK  
Huh? What? Sorry. No! Sorry, I... uh, never mind. Sorry.

ROLAND  
Are _you_ James?

Mark is struck by this question. He was asked this thousands of times through his life, and he hasn't heard it in over a year. He is unexpectedly verklempt.

MARK  
Oh, ah... no... I'm...

ROLAND  
Oh, jeeze, I'm sorry, are you okay?

Roland shifts over to Mark's table and proffers an honest-to-god handkerchief. Mark looks at it and laughs.

MARK  
Really?

ROLAND  
Call me old fashioned, but you know... there's something romantic about a handkerchief. Classy, you know?

MARK  
Romantic. Yeah.

ROLAND  
Here.

Mark takes the handkerchief and wipes his face. Then he hesitates.

MARK  
Do I... am I supposed to give it back now? Because to be honest, that's a bit gross.

ROLAND  
You're supposed to keep it, and then launder it, and then promise to return it to me.

MARK  
And how am I supposed to do that? I don't know your name, or your phone number.

Grinning, Roland produces a pen, takes Mark's hand, and writes his name and number on the back of it.

MARK (CON'T)  
Oh. Very smooth. Bravo... (reading) Roland.

Roland laughs, pleased with himself.

 

130     EXT. A VILLAGE IN AFRICA. Day.     130

Ben is still writing the journal for Mark. He is sitting beside a makeshift soccer pitch, watching the children play, under the eaves of the newly-built school and their meager shade.

BENJAMIN (V.O.)  
Sometimes it seems silly to be writing to you, Mark.  
I don't know if I will ever have the courage to send this to you.  
Maybe it's just for me, proof that I was really touched by you.  
That I am trying. I want you to be proud of me. I am going home in exactly two months.  
I have nothing waiting for me there. Except, maybe you. I don't know. I can hope.  
You said, before, that we were no good for one another. I remember that.  
And at the time you were right. But perhaps next time, we will be good for one another.  
I can only hope.

A soccer ball bangs into the wall beside him. The children giggle. Benjamin tucks his journal into his back pocket and launches himself at the pitch, after the ball. The children scream with delight, scattering.

131     EXT. JACK LAYTON PARK. DAY.     131

Roland and Mark are shopping at the farmer's market together. They hold hands and laugh.

Roland picks out some hydrangeas. Mark, startled, shakes his head.

MARK  
No. No, um. Those ones.

Mark points to some roses instead.

ROLAND  
But... your art. In the house. You prefer hydrangeas, don't you?

MARK  
Not anymore.

Roland buys them both boutonnieres of roses instead, and puts it in Mark's blazer button hole. They kiss, and, holding hands, walk past Mark and Benjamin's snogging tree. Mark barely falters.

 

132     INT. A PLANE - ECONOMY. DAY.     132

A tanned, scraggly, scruffy Ben is returning to Canada. He is writing in his journal.

BENJAMIN (V.O.)  
There is suffering greater than I could have predicted in the world, Mark.  
More than I ever saw in my operating theatre. More, I expect,  
than you have ever seen in your courtroom. But you got me through it.  
You have been my imaginary friend, and my goal, and Jimminy Cricket, Mark. I love you.  
I am done playing the villain. It is time to be the knight in shining armor.  
You won't appreciate being compared to a damsel, but I hope to win your hand anyway.  
I have no riches, no banner, nothing but a heart at is all yours. Humble. And hoping.

 

133     INT. A CRAPPY hotel room - Bathroom. DAY.     133

Ben showers. His time in Africa has been both kind and harsh. He has a lovely tan, and his musculature has definitely got more definition, but he’s too thin.

 

134     INT. A CRAPPY hotel room - BEDROOM. DAY.     134

Ben dresses. His clothing is clean and neat, but more casual than we've ever seen him dress in Canada - just jeans and a nice sweater, with loafers.

The excitement is building. He rushes out into the hall, then has to come back for the notebook. Dangling from the spine of the book, he even has a little African cat toy for Hightower.

 

135     EXT. CITY STREETS. DAY.     135

It's a gorgeous day and it matches Benjamin's mood as he dashes to Mark's townhouse.

 

  1.      EXT. OUTSIDE OF MARK’S TOWNHOUSE. DAY.     136



Roland and Mark return to the townhouse with their haul from the farmer's market. They are being kissy and adorable on the sidewalk.

Benjamin, at the end of the block, draws up short. In one swift stroke, he is utterly devastated.

It's Roland who spots him first.

ROLAND  
Mark? Do you know him?

Mark turns around. He gasps, and drops his groceries. His expression fills with longing, and hunger, and relief, and love, and lastly sadness.

ROLAND (CON'T)  
Mark?

MARK  
(strangled)  
I... it's...

Roland cuts a glance between the two of them, and then nods, slowly.

ROLAND  
(disappointed)  
I see. It's one of those things, huh?

Mark snaps back to reality when he registers Roland's tone.

MARK  
Roland, please, don't--

ROLAND  
No, no, I get it. It's fine.

MARK  
It's not fine, it's... he's...

ROLAND  
(firmly)  
Mark. I will go to the wine store and get something to go with our amazing farmer's market dinner, okay?

Mark, understanding that Roland is offering him space, nods.

ROLAND  
Get that stuff in the fridge. I'll be back in a few hours.

MARK  
It doesn't take a few hours to get wine.

ROLAND  
I'll make it.

Roland kisses Mark firmly, and pats the rose in his buttonhole. Perhaps it is a goodbye kiss, Mark isn't certain. He searches Roland's face as he pulls away, but Roland's expression is jovial and at ease. If he's hiding something, he's doing it well.

Roland skips down the steps and turns down the street, in the opposite direction of Benjamin.

Mark looks up the street and locks eyes with Benjamin. He nods slowly, just once.

Mark picks up their bags, opens the front door, and goes inside. He leaves the door ajar. Benjamin sprints down the street.

 

137     INT. MARK’S TOWNHOUSE. DAY.     137

Mark puts the bags on the counter, and begins to sort the produce. Some things go into the fridge. Some stay on the counter.

Benjamin slips in the door and closes it softly behind him. Hightower comes out of the hallway and curls around Benjamin's legs. Benjamin bends down to offer the cat a scritch and the toy.

BENJAMIN  
(fondly)  
Hello, menace.

In the kitchen, Mark drops a bundle of cauliflower. He braces his hands on the side of the counter, head bowed, trembling.

BENJAMIN  
Hello, Mark.

MARK  
(voice shaking)  
Benjamin.

BENJAMIN  
(awkward)  
That was... um...

MARK  
My boyfriend.

BENJAMIN  
(gently)  
Such a juvenile term.

Mark makes a gasping, choked, nearly laughing sound. He is too shaken up, too shocky, to really giggle.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
You look well.

MARK  
You too.

BENJAMIN  
You haven't even looked at me.

Benjamin is staring at Mark like a parched man at an oasis. His gaze begs "Look, look, please Mark. Look at me."

Mark is scared. He is scared to look at Benjamin, and he is scared not to. He is scared what might happen if he looks. He is scared that Benjamin might vanish if he doesn't.

Slowly, trembling, he turns around, eyes on his feet. He braces himself back against the counter, as if expecting a blow, and then inch by agonizing inch, raises his eyes.

Benjamin is smiling, softly, strained. His posture is loose, but his hands are held out at his sides, a little, fingers spread wide, sort of like "tah dah, here I am."

Mark gulps and presses a fist against his mouth. 

MARK  
You look good. Brown.

BENJAMIN  
Lots of sun in Africa.

MARK  
Africa?

BENJAMIN  
Doctors Without Borders.

MARK  
(surprised)  
Really?

BENJAMIN  
I once knew a man who told me that I needed care more. I decided to give it a try.

Mark blinks hard, trying to hold back tears.

MARK  
Why... why are you here?

BENJAMIN  
Where else would I be?

MARK  
We said... we were _done._

BENJAMIN  
I love you.

Mark jumps. He picks up the cauliflower, puts it in the sink, slams on the water, scrubs at his head, turns off the water, paces in a circle, rubs his face, and then faces Benjamin again.

MARK  
You can't say that. You can't just _say_ that.

BENJAMIN  
Why not? It's true.

MARK  
(moans)  
Benjamin...

BENJAMIN  
I love you Mark. I never stopped.

Benjamin takes a step forward, arms open to embrace and Mark jerks away, arms up to hold him back. He takes a few, shaky steps away.

MARK  
Don't.

BENJAMIN  
But--

MARK  
_Don't._

BENJAMIN  
Mark.

MARK  
Jesus! Fuck! Let me _process_ this for a second, okay?

BENJAMIN  
Process what?

MARK  
I thought you _hated_ me.

BENJAMIN  
(startled; hurt)  
What?

MARK  
The way you left! I thought... I thought you _never..._ ah, _fuck._

Mark turns away again, pacing, taking deep breaths, thinking.

BENJAMIN  
I see, then. No. No of course you didn't wait for me. I... quite right.

Benjamin pulls the journal out of his jacket pocket and sets it down on the little side table beside Mark's reading chair.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
All the same. This is yours. And I still love you.

MARK  
(bursting)  
Fuck, don't _say that!_

Mark, furious and hurt and confused and having no idea how to take any of this, rounds on Benjamin.

MARK (CON'T)  
Did you think I would just wait for you? Just put my life on hold? You _left_ , Ben!  
You went to the other side of the planet and I only knew you were even gone  
because I made an arse of myself by knocking on your door! A stranger answered!

BENJAMIN  
You went to my condo?

MARK  
The day we showed James'. Less than a month! And you were _gone._  
That was a pretty blunt clue! No subtly there. 

BENJAMIN  
I... I didn't mean...

MARK  
Well what _did_ you mean, then? What did you mean by it, when you left,  
with no forwarding address, no information? Doctors Without Borders!  
There are... there are _landmines!_ Hideous diseases!

BENJAMIN  
(sardonic)  
Which is why I went.

MARK  
You could have died over there! You could have _died_ and I would...  
I would never have heard. You could have died and I  
would have thought, for the rest of my life, that you... you... _h-hated_ me.

Mark can't fight the tears any more.

BENJAMIN  
I don't hate you. I don't. I was angry, yes, and I was hurt.  
But I never hated you. Not ever. Not once.

MARK  
Oh god, oh fuck, what do I do? What do I do?

BENJAMIN  
Mark?

MARK  
Are you back?

BENJAMIN  
In Canada? Yes.

MARK  
For good? Forever?

BENJAMIN  
Yes. I've agreed to take on an outreach role. I can't practice here,  
but I can... do good by bringing in others. And that way I can be...  
be in Toronto and with...

MARK  
Me.

BENJAMIN  
Yes.

MARK  
Oh, fuck.

They stare at each other, hungry. Helpless.

MARK (CON'T)  
I _can't._ Roland.

BENJAMIN  
Is that his name?

MARK  
I can't do that to him.

BENJAMIN  
Do you... love him?

Mark is silent, but it is a confessional silence. A telling silence. Benjamin's expression falls, the hope flickering out in his eyes.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Do you love _me_?

Mark remains silent. Benjamin's hope rekindles. Benjamin takes one tentative step forward. Mark matches it with a step back. Benjamin takes another. So does Mark.

In this slow, stalking way, Benjamin backs Mark up against the wall.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Mark. _Do_ you love me?

Mark closes his eyes, shaking. Unable to lie. Equally unable to confess.

Benjamin dips his head low, brushes his lips ever so gently against Mark's.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Do you still love me?

Mark can't take it anymore. He shoves his face forward, captures Benjamin's lips, and devours him. He grabs Benjamin's face, digs his fingers into his hair, turns him around, slams him back against the wall, desperate and joyful.

MARK  
(panting)  
I never stopped. I never stopped.

Benjamin melts.

Hands move swiftly. Buttons come undone, hands shove their way past belts and into pants. It is frantic, wild, and suddenly they are laughing, joyous, light, celebratory. Mark gets his hand around behind Benjamin and Benjamin presses his arse back into Mark's questing touch. His own hand wraps around Mark's cock and Mark jerks and arches.

MARK (CON'T)  
Oh, _yes._ Right there, right _there,_ Ben...

Between them, the rose that Roland had put in his buttonhole crushes and tumbles. It drops onto Benjamin's wrist, nearly falling down into Mark's pants. Mark jerks, startled by the sudden brush of petals against his stomach.

Mark suddenly realizes what he's doing. His eyes snap open and he jerks back so quickly that Benjamin's wrist nearly wrenches. The rose tumbles to the floor.

BENJAMIN  
Ow!

MARK  
Oh my god, your hand!

BENJAMIN  
Relax. It's okay. Much less protective now. See.

He spreads his palms. They both ignore the precome on one of them. Mark studies his scars.

BENJAMIN (CON'T)  
Boiling water and scalpels mostly, but some of it was butchering the goats.

MARK  
Butchering goats?

BENJAMIN  
You'd be surprised how little the art of butchery has to do with the art of surgery.

Mark laughs, and then steps back, all the way back into the kitchen. He studies Benjamin.

MARK  
You look happy.

BENJAMIN  
So do you.

MARK  
I think of James a lot, still.

BENJAMIN  
Me too.

There is a long pause as their breathing returns to normal.

MARK  
(sadly; quietly)  
Why are you here?

BENJAMIN  
Don't the heroes get a second chance in fairy-tales?

MARK  
Sometimes.

Another long pause.

BENJAMIN  
But not this time.

Another long pause.

MARK  
No.

BENJAMIN  
I see.

Benjamin turns away, slowly, righting his clothing. He walks to the door like a man to the gallows.

MARK  
Not yet, at least.

BENJAMIN  
Not yet?

Mark takes a step toward Benjamin, hesitant, and then another, decided on his course of action.

MARK  
Not yet. Roland is a good man. Kind. Considerate.

BENJAMIN  
Everything I am not.

MARK  
But he's not you.

BENJAMIN  
You are a kind man, Mark.

MARK  
What I have with him is good.

BENJAMIN  
We could be good.

MARK  
We can. But not now.

BENJAMIN  
When?

MARK  
Someday.

Mark and Benjamin linger by the door. Mark tilts his head up. Benjamin kisses him slow, and soft, and sad. They part like molasses, like sticky toffee, like a receding tide: slow, and careful, stuck together, and then all at once.

BENJAMIN  
(whispering into Mark's mouth)  
I am not to speak to you--I am to think of you when I sit alone,  
or wake at night alone, I am to wait--I do not doubt I am to meet you again.

Mark curls his hands into Benjamin's hair, face screwed up with the multitudes of emotions that are coursing through him. Mark whispers back:

MARK  
(tearfully)  
_I am to see to it that I do not lose you._

They part. Benjamin goes to the door. He opens it, and turns back to Mark, with tears in his eyes.

BENJAMIN  
Someday.

Mark nods, fists clenched.

MARK  
Someday.

Benjamin steps through the door. And then he is gone.

Mark picks up the rose, straightens a few of the crushed petals, and sets it down carefully on the kitchen counter.

Then Mark reaches behind him and finds a chair, folding into it as the breath leaves his body. He lets his head drop into his hands and takes a deep, shuddery breath, then tips his head back into the light streaming in from the skylight, glinting off the wet streaks on his face. He smiles, then laughs.

Then he picks up Benjamin's notebook from the side table, and begins to read.

Hightower jumps into his lap. Mark gives the cat a scritch.


	4. Fan Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fan art for "To A Stranger"

ART BY [PENUMBRA](http://archiveofourown.org/users/penumbra/pseuds/penumbra)

 

 

_Mark thrusts his hand at the messy table._

MARK:   
These people need me. They came to me,   
a lot of them specifically asked for me,  
because they need someone on their side. I can’t abandon them.   
It is a _privilege_ to be their voice.

BENJAMIN:  
 James needs you. He needs you to be present and well enough.  
And to do that you need to sleep, you need to–

MARK:  
This is nothing new! James will always need me. I’m the one  
who picked him up from the parties he wasn’t supposed to   
be drinking at, I’m the one who helped him when he   
thought he’d gotten his girlfriend pregnant, I’m the   
one who posted bail when he got into brawls in bars.   
So what if this time it’s just something a bit bigger? He’s my brother!   
Your ‘hard work’ won’t be wasted, Dr. Cummings,   
because taking care of James is _what I do._

_A beat._

_Benjamin is shocked into a momentary silence. And then he glowers, mulishly._

BENJAMIN:  
But even that must not be at the expense of yourself.

MARK:  
Why not? Why not, Dr. Cummings? What good am I   
to anyone except in this? This is what I do. This is what I am.   
Just like you said; all I do, all I’m good for, is to _care_.

_Benjamin surges up, grabs Mark’s head, and tries to kiss him. It is desperate, passionate, a loss of control that is startling to both of them._

_But Mark gets his hand up between them too fast and Benjamin ends up kissing Mark’s palm instead. Benjamin settles for this, sad, and stops fighting to get around Mark’s hold._

_Softly, regretfully, Mark presses his own mouth against the back of his knuckles, as if he could kiss Benjamin through the barrier of flesh, and bone, and responsibility._

_But he can’t. He can’t._

_They part slowly, reluctantly._

BENJAMIN:  
You mean something more to me.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you would prefer to read this fic as a PDF with full screenplay formatting, [click here.](http://jmfrey.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/To-A-Stranger-Final-Molly-Hooper-Revised-July-2016.pdf)
> 
> If you liked this screenplay, you can check out [my other work here ](http://www.jmfrey.net/books).
> 
> Firstly, I want to say that I am aware that have included too much description and motivational cues in the action sections for a standard screenplay. I have done not only my job as a screenwriter, but also the director and actor's, which you are not supposed to do.
> 
> I did this because this screenplay will never be a screenplay. These motivations and internalized feelings will never been seen to be played out by the actors John Watson or Sherlock Holmes. It will never be filmed by Ang Lee. You will never see emotions conveyed in a look, or the way the camera lingers on an important moment. 
> 
> This is a screenplay that will always only be read. So thank you for forgiving my little writerly indulgence.
> 
> THANK YOUS:
> 
> I want to thank [Penumbra](http://archiveofourown.org/users/penumbra/pseuds/penumbra) for her support and beta-reading with this story. I also want to thank [Leigh Nunan](https://twitter.com/leighnunan), an actual trained Script Editor, for working with me to catch the errors and making certain that what I wrote was actually a functioning screenplay.
> 
> Of course I want to thank Mad Lori for writing "[Performance In A Leading Role](http://archiveofourown.org/series/54607)," the amazing epic-length fanfiction upon which this screenplay is based and from which it was born.
> 
> HOW THIS SCREENPLAY CAME TO BE:
> 
> In "Performance", the film they are working on is titled "To A Stranger", written by Molly Hooper. She wrote the character Benjamin specifically for Sherlock Holmes to play, and in the fic the film is both set and shot in Toronto. Much of the first half of the story takes place in some of the city's most interesting and iconic areas.
> 
> In the fic, Lori never fully explained the plot of the film. She gave a short summary of what it's about, and explained what some of the clips looked like. But in terms of narrative, structure, and even tone she was pretty sparse. We got little of the character's dialogue, though more of their motivations through John and Sherlock's descriptions of how they planned to play the scenes.
> 
> Thus, I've always been fascinated with what the film might actually look like - actually _read_ like - if it were real. I thought about it a lot.
> 
> Mostly because at the time it was being serialized I was working in the film scene in Toronto.
> 
> Based on the level of knowledge and detail in the "Performance", I was _convinced_ that Mad Lori _must_ be in the scene, too. So much so that I messaged her to ask if she was. She was not.
> 
> But that means she's an even more fantastic writer than I had originally thought. She fooled me, and I actually _do the job_ she was writing about. Amazing.
> 
> (I was actually on a set in a park when Lori posted the "first kiss" chapter about filming in a park. I started staring at everyone around me on set, trying to peer at their computer and smartphone screens to see if that person was on AO3, wondering "Is one of you her?")
> 
> While I was relating my tale of contacting Mad Lori to Penumbra and her Livestream audience, I mentioned that if I'd love to write the "To A Stranger" screenplay as a fic one day.
> 
> My musing was met with a chorus of "DO THE THING!"
> 
> So I decided to do the thing.
> 
> I had an interesting time scrolling through the fic, looking for each reference to what happened in the film and trying to construct a cohesive plot out of the mentioned-but-never-shown clips and pieces, but totally worth it. With that done, I played Jenga with the moments and put together a plot-breakdown/beat-sheet.
> 
> When I started this script, of course, I didn't know that Lori had asked people NOT to write it. When I finished the first act, I went searching for some extra information about the story, and saw in Lori's FAQs that she had asked people not to do the thing.
> 
> Uh-oh. My heart sank. I was really invested in this. I got in contact with her to apologize, to show her what I'd written so far, and to ask if I could continue. She said yes.
> 
> Lori is very gracious, and very honest, which I really respect about her. She gave me some excellent notes, which really helped the screenplay develop into something more than a simple rehashing of a typical angsty meet-cute. The story is much stronger for it. Thanks for that, Lori; thank you for being generous and so thoughtful with your notes.
> 
> This has been an exhilarating, interesting, and educational ride. Thanks for taking it with me.


End file.
